Rise of a Race
by TriggerhappySOB
Summary: Sequel to "What Should Have Been". This follows the events of the fight with Buu, and the revival of the Saiyan race by the supreme Kais. As with my previous fic, this is not to create a totally different AU, but provide an alternate way of getting to the same basic end-state, with a few changes here and there. Warning: Graphic
1. The Revival

**Howdy folks, just a quick note before I get this going. This fic is intended to be a sequel to my first one, titled What Should Have Been. If you haven't read it, I would recommend doing so, just so that you have the context of where this story is starting from. If you choose not to, then I'll give you a very brief synopsis: Basically the same end-state as canon DBZ, with Buu dead. Major changes are: The Saiyan Race was (mostly*) revived by the Kais as a reward for Earth's Saiyans, Gohan and Goku are quite a bit more serious and Saiyan like due to events in my last fic, there is no fat Buu, Uub is a tiny child under Hercule's care, the smaller children were incapable of transforming until the very end of the fic (I didn't have them play a major role), Gohan has his tail back, is the sole wielder of the Z-sword, and is living with Videl. Lime, Erasa, and Sharpener all are minor characters, and there is one OC: Ria Son, Goten's twin sister.**

 **With that out of the way, let's begin.**

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 **Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super are all owned by Funimation, Toei animation, Toonami, and Akira Toriyama. I do not own any of the properties, as much as I would like to. Please support the official show.**

 **Chapter 1: The Revival**

"Tell me again soldier, and this time, no jokes." drawled an impossibly pompous and venomous voice.

The solder in question was standing stiff at attention, his damaged battle armor and scouter barely clinging to his magenta colored skin. His stiff, bristly moustache quivered as he fought the urge to run and cower in fear from the monstrosity before him. He couldn't help but wish that Frieza had remained dead. Life within the empire had been easy the last fifteen years for the soldiers who were formerly under his and his father's employ. As it stood though, the great tyrant himself had been revived by forces unknown to the masses of his army, and stood before him, as vile and condescending as he'd ever been all those years ago.

Frieza stood on a platform looking down at him, his pink and purple skin tones shining dully in the low light. He crossed his arms and a dissatisfied scowl etched on his features. The soldier felt the shoulder strap of his armor begin to slide and hurriedly pulled it back up, returning to the position of attention and starting over, "There's no jokes my lord, it's true. We were attacked by a team of Saiyans! I was the only one who managed to get away."

Frieza stiffened, his face impassive for a moment. A moment passed, nothing seemed to happen, and the others in the room dare not breath. A moment later, the Tyrant scowled and pointed a finger at the hapless soldier. A moment later, and his screams of agony were cut away by the resounding detonation from within his chest. A few seconds passed as pieces of the soldier fell all across the bridge of the ship they were on. The bridge crew all looked up at Frieza fearfully, but the Tyrant had closed his eyes and taken a deep breath, seeming to lose himself in thought. After another moment, Frieza looked over his shoulder towards a short creature with blue skin, "Sorbet, do tell me what I'm supposed to infer from this report?"

Sorbet gulped anxiously and clasped his hands behind his back, nodding solemnly, "I'm afraid that soldier spoke true, Lord Frieza. We've been keeping track of the Saiyans responsible for your death on Earth. As of three years ago, planet Vegeta has been restored, along with a fair number of Saiyans who were destroyed with their planet. We've seen the whole thing from start to finish for the last decade. This is how we learned of the dragon balls on Earth, and how we resurrected you."

Frieza continued to gaze at him for a moment, his expression emotionless. When he finally moved again, he returned to his seat at his back and propped his head up on his chin, as if bored, "I fear this will be an incredibly drole tale. Tell me Sorbet, what do I have to look forward to when I return to Earth to wipe out their pathetic existence?"

Sorbet took a shaky breath and began.

 **PLANET VEGETA – THREE YEARS PRIOR, FOUR MONTHS AFTER BUU**

Gohan flushed nervously as his short Saiyan Grandmother hugged him tightly about his middle, her tail flailing about excitedly in the air, "Now Gohan, you go back there and give that mate of yours a firm hug from me, okay? I know we'll be there soon, but still. I can't help it, I'm just too excited!"

He looked pleadingly towards his grandfather, who merely shrugged and smirked at his discomfort. Goku laughed behind him and pleadingly said to his mother, "He'll do that mom, but we really do need to go now. You don't know this girl like I do, and Gohan may not be in one piece when you actually get to go to Earth. We need to get there before she loses all of her patience."

She seemed surprised at that, and looked up at her grandson with a puzzled blink of her eyes. She seemed to be calculating something, and then grinned deviously, "She's a feisty one, eh? I bet you two make some impressive children."

Gohan gulped, thinking the same thoughts he had before coming to Vegeta four days prior, _In no way am I prepared for kids. Hell, I'm still struggling with being okay about Videl being in the picture. I'm only 18 still, and my only solace with Videl is that we live together now, so I don't have to worry too much about being there if something bad happens, regardless of who's fault it would be. Not that I don't want kids, but baby steps…_

He laughed nervously, but merely returned his grandmother's hug before gently prying her off and extending a hand towards his grandfather. Bardock obliged him, reaching out and clasping their forearms together in a firm hold, which was apparently the Saiyan way of greeting. No words were spoken, having spoken enough together during his time there already. He glanced over and saw that Vegeta was similarly saying his farewells to his own father. The eldest Saiyan's beard twitched, and Gohan swore he saw the ghost of a smile on his features as Vegeta turned to leave, standing next to Goku once again.

No other Saiyans came to see them off, having preoccupied themselves with construction and scavenging for food. So their goodbyes were finished as soon as Gohan went to join his father and Vegeta. He placed a hand on Goku's shoulder and said, "We'll be seeing you in a week. Until then…" he trailed off, and silently added in his mind, _as long as_ I _survive Videl, that is._ With that thought, Goku locked onto the ki he was searching for on new planet Namek, and they began the first leg of their journey back home to Earth.

 **EARTH – SATAN CITY**

Videl Satan wiped her hands and brushed herself off, shaking her head to get her short hair out of her eyes, and looked up towards the setting sun. She stepped on the unconscious form of the criminal she'd just finished subduing with a sigh. Sirens were wailing from around the corner, and she knew that the police would be on scene soon. She felt a rush of irritation and thought, _Couldn't hurt them to try and take care of this mess_ before _these creeps make a run for it. I mean, this guy managed to make off with close to six million zeni. You'd think they would have figured out a better way to prevent this by now._

Within moments, a police cruiser pulled up to a stop right in front of her. She huffed and crossed her arms as a very young police officer scrambled out of the driver side door and rushed forward to detain the broken man. But he fumbled with his cuffs, and dropped them, making the girl even more annoyed. She irritably picked up the cuffs and efficiently slapped them on the wrists of the criminal, pointedly glaring at the young man. She picked up the criminal without much effort at all and roughly shoved him in the back of the cruiser, much to the officer's astonishment and embarrassment.

He anxiously scratched at the back of his head and stammered out apologetically, "S-sorry Ms. Satan. W-will that be all? D-do we need an-"

"Get out of here." she snapped irritably, before he could finish. The officer gaped at her like a fish out of water for a moment, but she fixed him with a stern glare, and he abruptly jumped back into his cruiser, stammering out apologies. She watched the vehicle drive off and around the corner, and then realized she had several sets of eyes on her. She'd acquired a fairly large crowd, who had watched her take down the thief, as well as her interaction with the cop. A sensation of guilt welled up in her as she thought about her behavior, and without another word, leapt into the air and took flight the way Gohan had taught her.

She didn't need to be so abrupt with the young officer, who was probably a couple years older than herself, and obviously out on patrol solo for the first time. But she'd been tense for the last few days and was having a hard time keeping her temper in check. Gohan had left with his father and Vegeta almost four days ago, and she hadn't heard anything in all that time. As with any time he was away, she felt a pit in her stomach that was caused by her acute knowledge of her boyfriend's bad habit of getting into trouble. Add on top of that that she had already experienced his death once before, and even the notion that he was in trouble brought forth a panic, regardless of his status as one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

She rose up above the tops of the buildings in Satan City, making her way back towards their home on the outskirts of town. _Our home_ , she thought. _And any day, he's going to walk back through that door, and when he does, I'm going to kick his ass for keeping me waiting in the dark like that!_ _I thought he said he'd be back by evening_ **that day.** _He'd better have a damn good excuse._

It'd been over four months since the ordeal with Buu. Four months since they'd made their relationship official, and three since they'd moved in together to their small home, courtesy of Bulma. She was returning to said home from her father's, and another afternoon of watching the small child known now as Uub. Truth be told, she was still struggling with the amount of information and change that had intruded on her life over the last few months. Hell, to anyone else, it would have seemed a fantastic tale and nothing more. But she'd lived it, seen it with her own eyes. Putting aside her thoughts as she neared her home, she noticed with a jolt that there were lights on in the windows.

She dropped in altitude rapidly, until she was just above the ground. She touched down and continued her momentum, running to the front door of the small capsule house. She threw it open, and sure enough, there were the three men she'd been waiting for. Gohan, Goku, and Vegeta all froze, looking at her like deer in the headlights, all standing around their kitchen table. She crossed her arms and looked at Gohan expectantly without a word being said, her intent clear on her face.

Goku, sensing the tension in the air, clapped his son on the shoulder and hastily said, "Well-Gohan-it-was-fun-let's-do-it-again-soon-Vegeta-are-you-coming-here-let's-go!"

Before any of the others could move a muscle, he'd grabbed a thoroughly startled Vegeta by the shoulder, and popped out of existence with his first two fingers pressed against his forehead. Gohan gaped at the spot his father had been a moment before, and grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "traitor".

Ignoring the comical way he'd just been abandoned, and her desire to laugh at it all, she marched forward and firmly jabbed him in the chest with a finger. "Mind telling me why you decided to show up now? FOUR DAYS LATE?!" she said loudly, making him shift nervously.

"It wasn't my idea to stay longer Videl." he said quickly, obviously eager to stall the outburst he knew was coming. "We wound up getting caught up in Vegeta's political bull shit, and I mean the prince, not the planet. I was glad to get back as soon as we did, I thought they'd try to crown my dad or something."

Videl crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a skeptical look. But before Gohan could continue, she rolled her eyes and waved him off dismissingly, "I'm not sure I want to know what you mean, but I can't say I'm too surprised, considering Vegeta's personality. Your dad doesn't seem to be the type though." Gohan seemed to deflate a bit at that, letting out an anxious breath. But then Videl glared back up at him, making him tense nervously again, "But you could have at least let me know! I was worried sick!"

Taking the lull in the conversation left by her outburst, Gohan stepped close to her and enveloped her in a huge hug, lifting her clear off the ground. He gave her a warm and disarming smile that was clearly meant to diffuse her anger at him, and after a moment of fighting to keep a stern demeanor, Videl gave in and smiled back. He chuckled at her as she fully relented and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm okay Videl, promise. I missed you."

She leaned in and kissed him quickly, slapping her hand against his bulky chest before pulling back and saying with a playful smile, "I missed you too, jerk. You better be glad you did come back in one piece, I'd have to hurt you otherwise."

He dropped her back on her own two feet and took a satisfied deep breath. The tension that had filled the room minutes ago was now long gone, replaced by their usual playful banter. Gohan reached up and unbuckled the strap to the Z-sword slung across his back, hefting the impossibly heavy blade and propping it up against the wall, which creaked in protest in spite of the modifications he'd made after the last time. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, glad to have the weight off his shoulders finally. With a tired smile, he turned back to his girlfriend, who was watching him with a curious expression. "So, the Supreme Kai spoke true. The Saiyan ranks now number at almost ten thousand. King Vegeta came back as well, so the hierarchy was reinstated, with my Grandfather being his new second in command. We're planning on going back sometime within the next week to collect a few of the more prominent figures and bring them here. We think that it would be best for Vegeta to officially open up relations with Earth."

Videl was slightly surprised by that, and asked, "But I thought you guys wanted to keep it all hush-hush? I mean, won't it get out that your dad is one of them?"

Gohan nodded and said, "Yeah probably, but I don't think it's going to hurt anything, what with the fact that the Saiyans want peace with Earth. The Saiyan race is weak at the moment, their numbers too thin. They want to get things to work out well enough to eventually make a colony here and expand their numbers." He hesitated there, and Videl felt a slight blush come to her cheeks as she understood the implication. Gohan shrugged and gave a small smile, "Seems they liked the result of Saiyan-Human cross breeding."

Videl chuckled and leaned up against the table, giving him a devious smile with her flush still coloring her cheeks, "Well, I can't say I blame them. Gotta say, it's something to behold."

Gohan felt his stomach jump, and excitement welled up in his chest. He still wasn't used to how close they'd become since Buu, so even little looks like the one she was giving him now was enough to stir desire in him. She held a hand out towards him and said, "Come on, I need a shower." and just like that, he was swept away in the tide.

 **CAPSULE CORP – FAMILY DOME**

Lime jumped and turned towards the two Saiyans that had just popped into existence less than ten feet away from her. She halfway pushed herself out of the large tanning chair at the edge of the indoor pool as Goku and Vegeta started arguing.

"Dammit Kakarot, what the hell was that for?!" spat Vegeta angrily, shoving Goku's hand off of his shoulder.

Goku just shrugged apologetically, "Sorry Vegeta, but did you see the look on her face? I swear, she's even scarier than Chi Chi!"

Vegeta grumbled but didn't make a coherent response. Lime huffed and glanced towards the pool, where both Erasa and Sharpener were currently wading water and watching the two Saiyans with knowing expressions. _Videl._

"You know, if you guys hadn't taken so long, she wouldn't have gotten mad." said Lime dryly, knowing all too well what Videl must have been feeling upon seeing them again. She herself was fairly upset with them for being gone as long as they were. The two Saiyans seemed to notice they were there for the first time, and Goku laughed sheepishly.

"Hi Lime, nice to see you!" he said brightly, and Lime couldn't help but smile in response at the Saiyan's infectious demeanor. Erasa and Sharpener waved at them from the pool, and Goku waved in response. Lime stood the rest of the way and went to greet him with a handshake, asking, "Well, how did it go? Everyone back?"

Goku grinned and nodded, sparing a glance towards the prince while saying, "Yup! Everyone that wanted to come back, and next week we're thinking about bringing a few here to Capsule corp.! Speaking of, have you seen Bulma recently? We gotta get her in on all of this, Hercule too!"

Vegeta grunted at the mention of Mr. Satan and growled irritably, "Why the hell should we even care about that fool, much less what he has to say about my race."

Goku gave him a withering glare and sighed, " _Because,_ Vegeta, he's our best bet for getting a warm welcome by the people of Earth. Remember, the last time any of them saw a Saiyan was when you and Nappa showed up and destroyed that city. With Hercule's reputation, we can get a lot more done."

Vegeta seemed to loathe the idea, but didn't counter with anything. It made logical sense, and even he couldn't argue with the younger Saiyan's logic. It was at that moment that Bulma made her presence known by excitedly shouting from the edge of the room, "Vegeta!" She strode through the doors to the Brief ward, trailing her son, who lit up at the sight of his father. The two of them rushed forward to greet the Saiyan Prince, who stiffened anxiously at the display of affection as he was embraced. The three teens around the pool laughed at his discomfort, and Goku just gave his toothiest grin while scratching that ever incessant itch at the back of his neck.

"Well, how about you guys fill me in, now that you've had your little vacation?" said Bulma with a warm smile. And so, the two Saiyans began to tell Bulma about what had happened. They repeated the sequence of events after the Saiyans were dumped back on the new planet that the Kais had made for them, naming it Vegeta in honor of their old planet. King Vegeta was back in charge, being the most powerful being on the planet, though there were many who believed that one of the three Earth Saiyans – Including Gohan – should have taken charge. But none of the three of them wanted the task, something which King Vegeta was graciously grateful for. Bardock took charge of the Saiyan armies, and set himself on the task of building their civilization back up from scratch.

Within the first few hours, they'd set about building structures to shelter themselves, using rudimentary materials available on their new planet and knowledge of ki manipulation to mold them. There weren't any Saiyan scientists per-se, but there were those who had technical knowledge enough to create electronics and other essential tools. With the assistance of Capsule Corp., they could get their city up and running within months. Which was where Bulma came in, "So, you guys are really going to open up a political relationship with the Earth?"

Vegeta nodded and said, "At the very least, it will help to have some trade. Knowledge and technology will be essential for the Saiyans to recover, particularly in regard to your people's agriculture. Kakarot, his brat, and I will be more than enough to keep any Saiyans here in check. We also found out that Frieza's empire is still intact out there, even without the Cold monarchs to helm the beast, and many of the worlds splitting off and going alone. I doubt they'd be foolish enough to attack the planet outright, but I'd rather they have as much of an advantage as possible."

Bulma nodded and held her chin in thought, "Well, that makes sense. So, I assume that your father will be making a visit here then?"

Vegeta shook his head in response and said, "No, he's got enough to deal with back on Vegeta. We're going to be accompanied by a few Saiyans then next time we visit. Namely Kakarot's parents and four of Bardock's elites. You'll most likely be accompanied for a while by his mother, Gine. She's just as soft and sentimental as you, so you should get along fine."

Bulma scowled at him, but didn't comment. She turned back towards Goku worriedly as another thought occurred to her. "Are you sure you want to let everyone know you're an alien, Goku? I think that you stand to lose the most if things turn sour with the Saiyans. And Gohan hasn't exactly been a personable type of guy for the last few years, this could damage many of his relationships."

Goku smiled warmly, "Actually, it was Gohan's idea to make official relations and make our presence known. He reasoned that he would have to get used to the attention anyways, so me being counted as a Saiyan wouldn't make too much of a difference in the long run. I admit, I was surprised myself, but he seems to really want to get the Saiyans back up on their feet."

Bulma recoiled in shock at that, but then smiled happily with the revelation. She thought to herself, _Man, the kid's really getting a grip on himself now. I'm glad to hear it, I'd like to think that I was right about him and Videl being the thing that would help him heal, but I guess having his father back probably makes a pretty big difference too._

"But anyways, I gotta get going before Chi Chi gets more upset with me than she already is." said Goku, his nerves getting the better of him and causing him to break into a cold sweat. He gave them all a nervous "goodbye" and then just as he had appeared, popped out of existence. Just like every time before, the teens could only stare at the spot where he had disappeared, amazed that he could do such a thing. From somewhere behind her, Lime heard Sharpener whisper, "I'll never get used to that."

 **TWO DAYS LATER – SATAN CITY RADIO BROADCAST**

" _That's right folks, do not adjust your sets, you heard me right. Hercule Satan has come forth and announced that an alien race has contacted him with the intent of making contact in five days' time. Here's what the champ had to say earlier this morning in an exclusive interview with SCR."_

" _ **These people contacted me last night, speaking the common tongue, and said they were from a planet called Vegeta. Saiyans, they said, was the name they had given themselves. They said that being the Earth's strongest warrior, they would come directly to me since they don't recognize a mass of governments that split the Earth into parts."**_

" _It's currently believed that these 'Saiyans' are a warrior race, due to their need to seek the Earth's strongest fighter. Many have already drawn on some similarities to the invasion of two beings almost fifteen years ago that resulted in the partial destruction of East city. Those aliens were reportedly called 'Saiya-jin', and it's hard not understand some people's fear. Events of that day are still sketchy at best, and there is very little remaining evidence of their reign of terror. But there remains a light of hope! Our savior still remains among us, and Hercule had this to say."_

" _ **Fear not, people of Earth! I have the utmost confidence in the intent of the Saiyans. They conveyed their desire to negotiate with our leaders and come to a mutually beneficial agreement and understanding. It is with this in mind that I ask our King, as well as any of the other world leaders, to please join me at my residence here in Satan City."**_

" _Ladies and Gentlemen, we have five more days to wait until we make our first true contact with an alien race. Sure, we've been visited before, the most recent being the apparent invasion by a creature known as Majin Buu, but this time it's under different circumstances. Moreover, we know they're coming this time. This reporter is choosing to remain in the city on the day of their arrival. If Mr. Satan can broker peace with this strange race, then we have nothing further to fear. If, for some reason negotiations turn sour, then we'll have our world's best on the scene, ready to defend us."_

 **CAPSULE CORP – FIVE DAYS LATER**

Goten shot forward, throwing a punch at his best friend with a loud yell. Trunks dodged underneath the punch and watched with a smirk as Goten soared straight past him. Quicker than the other Demi could react, he spun on the spot and landed a hard kick right across Goten's backside. The demi reeled for a moment before rolling to a stop in the grass, gazing up at the sky with his eyes rolling in his head. At the edge of their little ad-hoc fighting arena, Goten's twin sister Ria started giggling madly at him, "You got your butt kicked!"

The seven-year-old Demi Saiyan propped himself up on his elbows and glared over at his twin with a pout, "Shut up Ria! Just because you transformed to beat him in the tournament doesn't mean you get to laugh at me!"

The girl giggled and skipped over to her brother, her wild shoulder length hair bobbing around her head with each skip. She held a hand out towards him and smiled brightly, "I'm not giggling because you got beat Goten, I'm giggling because he literally kicked you in the butt!"

He blinked in surprise for a moment before laughing sheepishly and taking her offered hand. Trunks returned to them from his place in the ring, grinning confidently. "You gotta catch up Goten! I know you can transform into a Super Saiyan now, but if you stay normal you can't keep up with me. That means that once I figure out how to transform, you won't be able to beat me at all!"

Ria gave him an irritable look and retorted for the both of them, "Don't listen to him Goten, remember that as you are now, you're still more powerful than I am. And Trunks, don't you forget that it's not just power that wins fights, it's just as much about skill. That's why I can still beat Goten sometimes, even when he can overpower me. Remember, Gohan and our dads easily had more power than Buu when combined, but they had a hard time beating him because Buu made them waste a lot of that energy and wore them down."

Trunks looked a little abashed at her statement, but hid it well with an irritable look on his face, "Whatever Ria, you're starting to sound a lot like Piccolo, you know that? He's always going on about stuff like that."

It was that moment that a powerful baritone voice rang out at them, "There's a good reason for that Trunks. She's right, strength of ki and body alone is not enough. Fortunately for you, you've got an endurance to weather their attacks, because they've both got you in technique."

Piccolo was calmly walking across the grounds of Capsule Corporation, having watched their fight from atop the family building. It was easy to sense that the three grown Saiyans were not on the planet, but the majority of the Z-gang was collected inside the building while the three children were sparring. He stared down at the mini prince as he looked like he was about to retort, silencing him before he could. He crossed his arms and indicated towards the building with his head, "You three heard anything yet? They've been gone for an hour now."

Goten was the first one to pipe up, "Nope, not yet! Gohan said that the king and some other important people were all gathered at Mr. Satan's house before they left. But there hasn't been anything fun happening yet."

His bright tone brought a smirk to the tall Namekian's face, and Piccolo nodded, "That's what I thought. They should be back within a few minutes. Come on, let's get inside and meet them."

He could feel their excitement peak and they ran excitedly past him and back into the family dome. He chuckled shortly before following them. He understood their excitement, after all, he felt it to. The Saiyans weren't even his people, and yet he felt excitement at the prospect of meeting the now resurrected race. In particular, the one whom Gohan had named his alter-ego after, Bardock, brought an interest to him that he hadn't felt since learning of his own origins. From what he'd learned, the Saiyan had an ability to sense the future, as well as becoming a Super Saiyan himself. He wasn't entirely sure of what he hoped for from the Saiyan, but it felt like what Gohan had described to him as battle lust. It wasn't often that there was a new face who didn't completely outclass him, yet still posed a challenge, and he longed to fight him like back in the old days when he and Goku were neck and neck.

He arrived inside the family dome just as they suddenly appeared with Goku's instant transmission, and felt a jolt as the overwhelming ki of all of the Saiyans press down on him. He'd expected that from Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta, but five of the six newcomers were immensely powerful. He glanced them over, just as the other Z-fighters were doing. There were four men, and two women among them. Of the two women, one of them was easily the weakest physically, and Piccolo suspected that she was Goku's mother. She had those same kind eyes as him, but where he was large and bulky, she was of a much softer build. The other however, was easily the third strongest amongst the newcomers. She was powerfully built, particularly in her legs, and had oddly colored eyes for a Saiyan, being a deep violet instead of midnight black. Those fierce violet eyes glared around at them from beneath her wild bob-cut.

Two of the men in the group, while still extremely powerful compared to the bar set by Raditz and Nappa, were rather weak in comparison to the top three. One – the largest of the group, standing as tall and bulky as Nappa – was obviously much older than the rest, the crown of his head balding. The other was a short dumpling of a Saiyan, his expansive middle only being matched by the powerful build of his arms, and he kept a dirty looking goatee that was framed by lots of stubble. The last two seemed to be of an entirely different league. The tall one with the ponytail was stoic and unreadable, and seemed the most in control of himself of all of them. The last Saiyan was very obviously Goku's father. They looked nearly identical, with only minor differences here and there to differentiate them by appearance alone.

Goku took the first move, stepping forward of the other Saiyans and laughing sheepishly as all eyes turned to him. "So, guys, these are the Saiyans who'll be staying here for a little while. These two are my mom and dad, Gine and Bardock. Then, down the line that way, is Tora, Fasha, Borgos, and Shugesh." He indicated to each of them as he went, and the six new Saiyans merely nodded in recognition, and a tense silence hung over them all for a moment.

Finally, Krillin spoke up, scratching at the hair on the back of his head as he peered up at Bardock curiously, "You're the guy, huh? We'd heard from Gohan about you a couple of times, though the stories are vague. But you're the one who stood up to Frieza, made the Saiyan rebellion a thing?"

Bardock nodded shortly and said, "Yeah, though it was far too late to be of any real use it would seem." Piccolo noticed that he sounded nothing like his son, his voice gruff and stern, though still quite youthful. Piccolo reflected for a moment that although the Saiyans in front of him were technically late in their seventies and eighties, since they had all died, they'd stopped aging in hell. So, for all intents and purposes, Goku was actually older than his parents physically by a few years now. He snorted quietly in amusement at the thought.

Gohan sighed heavily from next to his father and gave his grandparents a warm look, "Well don't be afraid of them. I promise, they won't bite. Right guys?"

With that question, the tension in the air broke, and the Z-fighters and Saiyans began greeting each other. Within minutes, several of the others were being caught up in the tales the Saiyans had to give. Piccolo silently acknowledged the reason they were sent to hell in the first place upon hearing some of them. Just this group alone was apparently responsible for the cleansing of well over two score planets, including the civilizations that were on them. He wondered if perhaps all this was a bad idea, but then reasoned that none of them could quite match him in a one on one engagement, and not too much of a threat were they to get out of hand. On top of that, he still had Gohan to rely on. Of anyone there, he'd make this all work out, he was sure of it.

Gohan glanced around at the collective Z-fighters and asked over the noise, "Hey, has anyone seen Videl? Or any of my other friends, for that matter?"

Bulma, who had been listening with rapt attention to Bardock, looked up at the demi and called back, "They left for her father's place right after you left. They said they would expect you to show up early to handle the crowds there."

Gohan nodded and sighed in defeat, realizing that it was probably his long-adopted sister, Lime, who had figured that one out. They weren't wrong about it, he was anxious to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible, and that meant minimal interference from the hordes of media, security, and general population that were likely to be swarming the outside of Satan Manor right now. Thankful that the Saiyans were capable of flight, and therefore could easily bypass the crowd, Gohan began making his way towards the exit, calling over his shoulder, "Thanks Bulma. Dad, I'll be waiting for you guys on the front lawn of Satan Manor. See you there!"

With that out of the way, and confident that the others could find their way without any further help from him, he stepped out into the light. He took a deep breath, settling his nerves, and reached up to press the buttons on the watch that Bulma had made for him. Instantly, the outside world was muted as his armor and helmet formed over him, closely resembling Saiyan battle armor. A moment passed, and the external microphones turned on, giving him his hearing once more. Now fully disguised, and making sure his tail was wrapped around his waist, Gohan took to the sky in the direction of Satan City, and what would likely be the most momentous occasion in Human history.

* * *

 **A/N: There we are. Just a minor note, there's a weird thing that happens when I upload a word doc to the manager, and random letters will disappear and reappear in random spots throughout the chapter. I'm aware of it, and if a word pops out at you, that's likely the cause. I'm not perfect, I know i'll miss some here and there.**

 **As I said, if you haven't read WSHB yet, I would recommend it before you get too far, or there will be some vital context missing, no matter how much I try to make sense of what I'm writing without it. Anyways, until next time, have a fantastic day.**


	2. Trade

**Howdy all! Something I didn't mention in the last chapter: I should say that I've not seen too much of Dragon Ball Super yet, basically just to the fight with Frieza, and even then I'm not as brushed up on it as I would like. So while I will try to follow the basic plot path of Super here (or the movies, depending on which you prefer), I'm still going with a fairly different plot. Feel free to PM me suggestions if you're interested in doing so, I definitely will take a look at it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Trade**

 _Alright, just keep your head about you and stay cool. They're just a bunch of paparazzi, no need to get too rough with them._

Gohan landed with a heavy thud in between the small circle of police officers struggling against the tide of people trying to get into Satan Manor, still in his Bardock disguise. Everyone froze, staring at the masked super-hero with apprehension. Gohan reveled in the anxious look he was getting from the hundreds of people before him, but wrestled down the urge to do anything to scare them further. He crossed his arms and said loudly and clearly, "Anyone who was not invited, back off. That means you." He glared at the camera crew from ZTV, who was easily the most popular and politically charged hive of tabloid journalism in the country. He knew they couldn't see his face through his mask, but they got his message clearly.

The blonde reporter who Gohan vaguely recognized as one Angelina James, a particularly popular and controversial journalist, stepped forward from the rest of her ZTV camera crew, but was held back by an officer in riot gear. She struggled for a moment before accepting her position and extending a microphone over the officer's shoulder towards him. "Bardock, we believe that we should be allowed in to see these meetings. The world has a right to see these aliens for themselves."

Gohan stiffened and turned his head towards her, making sure there was no doubt who he was talking to as more reporters and camera crews started back up in response to her comment. "You mean, you want in so that you can put whatever spin you want on your story about the Saiyans before anyone else does."

She seemed a little startled for a moment, but recovered quickly, and said in her usual confident tone, "ZTV tells the story as it is sir, I don't know what your implying. We merely believe that the people of this world deserve to know what sort of creatures these aliens are, since they're invading our home!"

Gohan growled and pointed an accusatory finger at her, his temper getting the better of him, "That's what I mean, right there! _Invading_? Did you not hear Mr. Satan last week? They're a warrior race looking for peace, not war, and are coming here for Hercule first because he's the strongest, which is their definition of a leader. I fully intend to see that they get here without any problem, and you're _definitely_ a problem. They won't appreciate your meddling while talking to him, so I recommend you turn around and leave before I make you." The crowd roared in disapproval, making his ears ring as they tried to get past the nearly overwhelmed police. He loudly said, "You aren't getting by me." As if to make his point, he held a hand out to his side and forced a small amount of ki into his palm, forming a ball of light there that could have easily been mistaken for one of his more powerful blasts, forgetting his earlier decision to not scare them further. The collected people on the other side of the line of police stiffened anxiously at the sight of it and stopped struggling, knowing all too well what Bardock was capable of.

Before anything else could be said, a familiar feminine voice rang out behind him with plenty of annoyance in her words, and he felt a jolt in his chest. "Bardock! Nice of you to show up _finally_."

He turned to look over his shoulder to see Videl descending the front steps to her father's manor and jogging to join him. She was wearing her usual getup of a baggy white shirt and her bicycle shorts, and he felt a small smile come to his face at the sight of her, just as always happened now. He let the miniscule amount of energy to dissipate into nothing, and the glow from his hand faded to normal once more. She came abreast of him and gave him an overly sweet smile that made Gohan worry slightly, before returning her attention to the reporters. Many of them had hastily backed off, leaving the more anxious and determined there to keep pushing on the line of police. Angelina James was one of the ones who was still there, unsurprisingly, and once again pushed her arm past the police barricade, with the microphone clenched in her fist, "Ms. Satan! Ms. Satan! Your father's meeting with these Saiyan warriors is going to be taken behind closed doors. Just what exactly is going to be taking place? Can the people of Earth trust that these invaders won't do something underhanded and treacherous?"

Videl quirked an eyebrow at her and planted her hands on her hips, "What? You think my father would lie and this is all going to end in the subjugation of the human race? Have a little faith, Bardock and I are here, so is my old man. Now, didn't Bardock here just tell you to scram? You'll get yours soon enough, don't worry."

Angelina looked like she was about to renew her attempts to get past the police, but was pulled away by one of her crew who was nervously looking at Bardock and Videl, obviously terrified of their unusual abilities. Gohan turned to the nearest officer and tapped him on the shoulder, "You guys got it from here? That should have scared a bunch of them off."

The officer nodded and adjusted his riot helmet, lifting the face shield and giving him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, thanks for that Bardock. We can handle the remaining paparazzi."

With a nod, Gohan turned and joined Videl as they retreated into her father's estate. Gohan waited until they were out of site of the front gate, and pressed the buttons on his watch. His armor was replaced once more by his Navy blue Gi, and he felt the chilly air-conditioned air kiss his skin from inside the entrance hall of Hercule's home. Videl immediately slapped him on the arm and gave him a wilting glare, "What was that Gohan? You do know who that was, right?!"

Gohan looked taken aback and rubbed at the spot she had just slapped, his temper flaring in his chest at the accusatory tone in her voice, "Yeah, that dumb tabloid journalist from ZTV who did the article on me back in high school. Why?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation, and grumbled, "God, you really have no clue how to handle the press, do you?" She sighed and crossed her arms, giving him an exasperated look, "She's going to twist everything you say into something that comes across as evil and sick. She's far too good at that. You making a blast _in front of her crew_ is just giving her video 'evidence' that you're dangerous and can't be trusted!"

Gohan rolled his eyes and retorted irritably, "Really? That's what you're worried about right now? Not the fact that an alien race, that is quite literally able to destroy entire civilizations, is about to open up official relations with these morons? It's the reputation of my alter-ego, which I have never cared about myself?"

She glared at him heatedly, "Yes! Don't you get it Gohan? You're half Saiyan! You have a tail! They're going to connect you to the others when the get here, and eventually that mask is going to come off because someone will make the connection! You've been seen as a cold and ruthless killer before. What do you think they're going to spin this all as when they see the Saiyans for the first time? When they realize that there have been Saiyans among us for years, fighting and causing carnage the whole time? I can already see people trying to play it off as a long planned out invasion, and you're supposed to be the vanguard!"

Gohan stiffened a little at that, having not considered that possibility yet. He couldn't make any logical sense of that type of conspiratorial thinking, but reasoned that there were those who would see it all as such. But he wasn't ready to back down just yet, and fired right back up. "What the hell are they going to do about it, even if they don't like it?! None of them even know that they're so powerless against Saiyan strength, and if this works out today, none of them will _need_ to know. And if nothing else, we can lean on Hercule."

She stiffened angrily and yelled suddenly, "That's besides the point Gohan! My dad isn't some prophet, remember when we tried to get all those people off Earth during Buu? Barely anybody showed up, and he _was_ the most influential man on the planet at that time! If that woman plants a seed of doubt in enough people's minds, then everything you've been planning could be for nothing, and the Saiyans won't get anything but contempt! That includes you! Humans aren't as accepting of the unreal, even when it's thrust on them!"

Gohan gave her an incredulous glare and shrugged angrily, "You didn't seem to have a problem!"

She glowered at him, "I'm not other people Gohan. And for your information, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it all without wanting to go into a mild panic attack. If it weren't for the fact that I wanted to stand with you and nowhere else, I'd still be a skeptic about these guys! I don't know the Saiyans, that's why I wanted to go with you to Vegeta! Even I'm not just going to believe everything because you say it's so, so what the hell do you think someone else is going to do? Believe you, an alien, or a popular human Journalist whose word is often considered to be truth?"

Gohan was taken aback, and felt a pit in his chest at her words. It shouldn't have surprised him that she was having a hard time with the information she'd been given, but it did, and he realized suddenly that she'd been hiding it from him for months. He knew that she needed to see to believe, that was one of her quirks: she didn't trust anything besides what her own eyes saw. But in that moment, Gohan realized that trusting _his_ judgement, even after they'd been mated, was a leap of faith that she was apparently still hesitant to take. He breathed heavily through his nose and snarled, "So that's how it is, huh? Been lying to me about how you've been feeling? You don't trust me."

She sighed and flung her arms out at her sides exasperatedly, "I can't believe you, you idiot! It's not about that, I just don't trust the Saiyans! And neither do those people out there! I'm the only one besides your normal group who has any inkling of what were about to get into with these aliens! They're afraid!"

"These big spooky _aliens,_ like me?" he spat, sinking further into his anger. "Saiyans may want peace, but that doesn't mean we have to cater to bumbling idiot humans that are afraid of the boogey-man."

Videl scowled and said, just as viciously, "I'm one of those bumbling humans Gohan. Or did you forget?"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow it, you two!" yelled someone up the hall from them. They turned their heads towards the source to find Lime quickly marching her way down the hall, a dissatisfied frown on her face. Close behind her was Erasa and Sharpener, who were both looking between the arguing couple apprehensively. Lime halted abruptly in front of them, glaring heatedly between them, "Just what the fuck is this all about?"

Gohan crossed his arms and averted his eyes, wrestling his temper back into control with a few deep breaths. Videl continued to glare at him, "Mr. Bad-ass Saiyan here decided to threaten some reporters."

Lime recoiled in shock and gave her a quizzical look, "So?" Gohan raised his eyebrows and looked at Videl expectantly, as if to say, "I told you!" But Lime caught his gesture and pointed a finger at him angrily, "You, shut it!"

Gohan scowled and returned his eyes to somewhere up near the ceiling, pointedly choosing to not look at any of them. Erasa piped up from behind their Brunette friend, "We could hear you guys all the way in the kitchen! Why are you fighting, _now_ of all times?"

Gohan growled irritably, "That's a personal problem, you guys butt out."

Lime smacked him right in the same spot that Videl had earlier, jolting Gohan into looking at her. She scowled deeper and said, "Then you wouldn't have been yelling it loud enough for all of us to hear. Videl, what's the problem with him getting onto some paparazzi? If I recall correctly, you're not fond of them either."

Videl sighed, seeming to get her temper under control, leaving behind only a cold anger that smoldered in her eyes, "It's because the person he mouthed off to has a tendency to take anything anyone says, and uses it to turn the general population against them."

Sharpener stiffened and paled, leaning around Lime and asking anxiously, "You don't mean that same lady who wrote the article about Bardock being an unhinged madman who would kill us all?"

Videl pursed her lips and glared back up at Gohan, who still wasn't looking at her. "Yeah, that one. I already get the feeling that she's going to get a hell of a following from this thing. She's good at twisting facts and turning people against each other. Only, Gohan decided that this time it wouldn't matter if she turned the world against him, because _Saiyans are just stronger than humans, what are the poor little humans going to do about it?_ " She said the last part of that in a mockingly bad imitation of her boyfriend's voice.

Gohan felt his temper flare even higher and threaten to explode, and turned on the spot angrily and spat, "You know what? Fuck off." before making his way through the halls in the opposite direction.

The other four watched him go in silence. Videl scowled even harder as she watched his retreating form, and then quietly cursed herself under her breath, tears of anger welling up in the corners of her eyes. Lime sighed heavily and turned her head towards the crime fighter, a stern expression on her face, "That was unnecessary, Videl. What's gotten into you?"

Videl shuddered once, then took a shaky breath and looked towards the ceiling, fighting back her frustrated tears. She took a second to recompose herself, then set her face into a firm expression and simply said, "Nothing. Just leave me alone for a bit."

With that, she brushed past Lime and in between Sharpener and Erasa, walking the opposite direction of Gohan. Sharpener merely gaped after her before turning to Lime, "What the _hell_ was that about? There's got to be more going on than just them getting into an argument over something like the media."

Lime thought about it hard, seriously concerned for the two dark haired teens. She'd never seen them so at odds as they had just been. She supposed that it was possibly just a lovers' quarrel, but didn't understand how it had gotten so heated so quickly. Erasa piped up, her voice diminished and anxious, "I'm sure they're both just stressed out about the Saiyans coming. I mean, Gohan's trying really hard to make sure things go smoothly, and Videl is anxious too… We are talking about a powerful warrior race after all. I think she feels threatened, and on top of that, she's definitely not over him being gone for those four days yet."

Lime hadn't considered that yet. Gohan made sense, but Videl? Feeling threatened would definitely explain her outburst and attitude, but what was the threat she was feeling? Was it the fact that this alien race was going to be here soon that made her feel weak, or the threat that they may take Gohan's attention from her? It seemed petty, but Lime could understand how the latter might be affecting the girl. She reasoned that they would have to talk about it to get to the bottom of it. Sighing in defeat, she said, "Whatever it is, we can give it a few minutes to let them simmer down before going after them. The Saiyans should be here soon, might as well be ready for when they do."

Back outside the manor, Gohan was pacing about on the lawn, just outside the view of the crowd at the front gate. He rubbed the back of his neck irritably, glaring at the ground hard. _What did she get onto me like that for? And all that shit about the Saiyans? If she was worried about them, then she should have said something to me before they actually got here! Why didn't she tell me anything?_

He paused in his pacing when he felt his father and the others approaching, and noticed that the crowd was parting at the gate to let someone through. It only took a moment before he was able to pick out King Furry, the anthropomorphic old dog who ran the country, straightening his tie and quickly making his way through the gate. It seemed that even the king wasn't fond of the media. Gohan realized that this was the first political world leader that Gohan had yet to see, and wondered if perhaps there were more within the manor who he hadn't met yet. Putting aside his troubled thoughts surrounding Videl, he hailed the king with a wave of his arm, "King Furry! This way!"

The old dog noticed him and nodded in the affirmative, waving his bodyguards down as they attempted to get between him and Gohan. Gohan vaguely remembered that the King had had a closed-door conversation with Bulma sometime after the Buu fight was resolved, and much of what happening today was revealed to the dog during that talk. It turned out that he was more endowed with knowledge of the Saiyans and Goku's involvement in the major events of the world, and by extention, Gohan. The King marched up to him, extending his hand as he went, which Gohan took in a firm shake. "Young Gohan, isn't it? I know we haven't met, but I knew your father a long time ago, son. It's good to meet you."

Gohan gave him a weak smile that didn't meet his eyes, and nodded in the affirmative, "Yes sir, likewise. They're on their way now, do you want to await their arrival?"

The king, who seemed to have no doubts as to whether or not Gohan was telling the truth, nodded and clasped his hands behind his back and stared up towards the sky. He gave the demi a sidelong glance and asked, "You nervous, boy? You seem shaken."

Gohan started a little at the question, unsure of what to make of it. He admitted, "A little bit, sire. Hard not to be considering what's happening today. For the Saiyans, it's the first time that they've had outside contact for almost forty years. For Humans, it's the first time they've had a friendly offer from outside their isolated little world. I just feel caught in the middle."

King furry chuckled and gave him a knowing sort of look, "First time dabbling in politics, eh? I know what you're feeling. I was but a young dog myself when Goku took on Piccolo the first time, and was left feeling helpless as a new king during that time. It will pass, Son, don't worry about it too much."

Gohan couldn't help but think back to the events that had transpired with Videl, and the journalists out front. He said quietly, "Mostly, I'm concerned about that reporter out there, Angelina James. Videl brought up a valid point about her stirring up controversy."

King furry seemed to darken a bit as he mentioned the reporter, "Ah yes, _that_ woman. I'd like to tell you not to worry about her, but even I have to be wary of that woman's pen. I don't know how she has such a large fan-base, but she's just as influential as Hercule. I suspect that she'll have a new flame article out soon regarding the Saiyans, we just have to hope nothing comes from it."

Gohan paused a moment before asking, "There's nothing to be done about it, then?"

King Furry quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a smirk, "Aside from taking it into your own hands and risking a socio-political shit-storm? No. She's got her right to publish whatever she chooses, it just happens too be that she chooses to write whatever is most controversial at the time. It's a media gimmick that makes her very wealthy."

At that moment, Gohan looked up and saw six figures descending from the sky. King furry matched his gaze, as did the suddenly silent crowd out front of the manor. Gohan noticed that his mother wasn't among the Saiyans, neither was the large one called Borgos. Vegeta, Goku, Bardock, Tora, Fasha, and Shugesh all landed in quick sequence. Fasha and Tora turned towards the gathered Paparazzi, who suddenly started taking photos and trying hard to get past the police barricade once more, and defiantly stared down the crowd. Goku smiled and stepped forward, nodding towards his son and extending a hand towards the king, "Hey King Furry! It's been a long time!"

The old dog smiled brightly and took Goku's offered hand in both of his own, shaking vigorously, "Goku, my old friend! It's good to see you again! You've grown a lot over the years!"

With that out of the way, introductions were made between the Saiyans and the King. Gohan only had eyes for the crowd though, and he could hear the reporters from each of the stations talking loudly to their camera crews, no doubt broadcasting. He stiffened angrily when he picked out Angelina James' voice above the bustle, "yes, the Saiyans have _flown_ in, much like our masked Vigilante, Bardock. This reporter for one, is surprised at the familiarity that our King is giving these strange warriors. It also seems that two of these newcomers are two of the men who were present at the disastrous events of the twenty-sixth world martial arts tournament. Could these Saiyans be responsible for the horrific events that put a halt to the festivities? We'll soon find out."

King Furry's voice brought him back to the others, "Welcome, Saiyans. I understand that you're here to speak to Hercule, so why don't we go inside."

Gohan knew that they weren't really here to talk to Hercule, but the charade had to be kept up until out of the public eye. Without a further word, they followed the King into the manor. The doors shut behind them, cutting off the noise of the crowd, and he could almost feel the Saiyans relax next to him. He glanced them over and noticed that in particular, Bardock seemed frustrated. He clenched a fist and growled, "They're annoying."

Gohan felt the urge to laugh at that. It wasn't too surprising that they'd be a bit put off by the behavior of the paparazzi, having never dealt with it themselves. King Furry lead the way, giving them an anxious glance and saying, "I assure you, they're not a good representative of the people of this planet. Gohan and Goku can attest to that, I think. We'll discuss more when we get to the meeting area."

Gohan noticed that they were making their way towards Mr. Satan's conference room that doubled as a large dining area. As they entered the room, and Gohan was surprised by the turn-out. Chiaotzu was the first one he noticed, with an ever-stoic Tien standing behind him. But there were several other faces he didn't recognize from countries around the world numbering near twenty, and at the head of the table, Hercule Satan. His three younger friends stood behind him, as well as Videl. He felt the pit in his stomach lurch again at the sight of her, but she seemed determined not to look at him. Lime and Sharpener were giving him a concerned look, but he just gave them a small wave to tell them he was fine, and went with the Saiyans. Shugesh and Fasha took up positions at opposite sides of the room, standing at what Gohan could only call a position of attention. Bardock hesitated, with Tora at his side, as the collective group of world leaders had their eyes fixed on them.

Hercule coughed nervously and indicated towards the chair at the opposite side of the table, "P-Please, sir. The seat down there has been reserved for you, if you'd like?"

Bardock considered them for a moment, his eyes glinting as he inspected the collective. He strode over to the offered seat and roughly planted himself in it, leaning up against the table on his elbows, while Tora took up a position behind him, mirroring the other Two Saiyans. Gohan just stood there with his father and Prince Vegeta. For a moment, silence reigned as the two races inspected each other, and one with fear and one with skepticism.

Gohan stepped forward, feeling their eyes on him. He took a deep breath and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the Saiyans of planet Vegeta. Their representative, Bardock-" many of the leaders looked surprised at that, looking the seated Saiyan with wonder, and Gohan realized they must have been wondering about a certain masked Super-hero. "- and his Elites, Tora, Fasha, and Shugesh."

Hercule spoke up again, seeming to find his confidence, "Well, for everyone else, I would like to extend you a warm welcome to planet Earth! We-"

But Bardock cut him off, "Let's get to business, shall we? I've never been one for pleasantries."

The others around the room seemed to stiffen at his words, and some seemed surprised that they spoke in a tongue that they could understand. Hercule gulped and held his tongue. It was King Furry who broke the ringing silence, "Well, tell us Bardock, what do you want?"

A moment passed, and Bardock said, "King Vegeta wishes to create an alliance with your world. We have warriors, but little infrastructure and technology. He proposes an exchange of technologies and goods."

One of the leaders Gohan didn't recognize, an older woman with bright violet hair, piped up in a surprisingly deep voice, "What sort of technologies? You said that your people have little in the way of tech, but we have much to offer from Capsule Corporation."

Bardock fixed his eyes on her, and she recoiled a little bit. He continued, "We have a few amongst our numbers who were technical workers for the Planet Trade Empire, and have a knowledge of space travel and advanced healing chambers. Some of our others were capable of elemental creation; the ability to create items from raw material with energy manipulation."

Several in the room seemed puzzled by his explanation, but he continued before anyone could comment, "What we really need is agricultural technology and communications equipment. Our planet is scarcely populated and doesn't have much in the way of edible plant life. I noticed that a very large portion of yours is dedicated to just that."

Many of the world leaders looked upon him skeptically. Another in the room spoke up, "Agricultural tools? You mean to tell us that your people can't farm? What do you do for food?"

Tora spoke up for the first time, his voice surprisingly soft for a Saiyan, "It is a long story that doesn't pertain to the discussion at hand. Suffice to say that we cut ties with a former employer, which was our primary source of sustinence."

Bardock glanced at him over his shoulder and nodded, "We are skilled and powerful warriors, every Saiyan is brought up with a knowledge of battle. We are not farmers, or simple factory workers. But with our numbers dwindling, we need change."

One of the more adventurous in the room piped up confidently, a large cigar hanging out of his mouth, "Sounds to me like you're desperate, Saiyan. Why should we help you when you seem to have nothing to offer?"

Bardock stiffened, and looked around at them as many seemed to come to the same realization. Gohan felt his apprehension grow as the tension in the room did. Bardock leaned back in the chair and simply said, "Because you could benefit from a race of warriors being your allies."

A couple people seemed amused at that thought, and Cigar-guy – as Gohan had dubbed him in his mind – said, just as confidently as before, "We have our own militaries, what use could we have for a handful of your warriors?"

Bardock gave him a dangerous looking smirk, and the room quieted again at the look. He glanced towards his grandson and son, and said, "You don't have a clue how powerful a Saiyan warrior is, do you? Tell me, are you familiar with that man over there? In the orange?" Many in the room turned towards Goku, and a couple did seem to recognize him. "He's my son. That employer that my friend mentioned? He ruled the galaxy with an iron fist, terrorizing everyone he could under his thumb, including my people, who for all of our might, could not overthrow him. My son, who was raised here on Earth, was the one to bring him down, a creature who was supposed to be unbeatable."

Many seemed openly skeptical about that. Bardock continued, not letting them catch a breath, "My grandson, you already know –" He looked towards Gohan, who gulped and felt his heart jump in his throat. Realizing that although they'd already discussed this part of the proceedings long before they even arrived here, he was still apprehensive about it. Taking a deep breath, Gohan nodded and pressed the buttons on his watch. His armor appeared over his Gi and his tail unfurled from about his waist. Several of the people in the room jumped at the change. He noticed that the other teens in the room openly gaped at him, even Videl. He hadn't told them he was going to show these people who he was.

Bardock nodded at him and said, "He's a Human-Saiyan hybrid who was raised on your planet. You've seen what he's capable of for yourselves. Now imagine, ten thousand warriors with powers like his, standing alongside you when the Empire inevitably comes here."

"Humans and Saiyans are… compatible?" asked the violet haired woman from before, just barely loud enough to be heard. Her question went unanswered, and Gohan once again pressed the button, returning to his Gi and wrapping his tail back around his waist. A moment passed, and many seemed to recover from their shock, though some continued to look between Gohan and Bardock, unsure of what to make of the two men who shared a name. True to Videl's word, one of the leaders heatedly asked, "How do we know that you don't intend to take over our world? If what you say is true, and your warriors are as powerful as… our Bardock, then what's to stop you from attacking us?"

Many in the room nodded in agreement and stared fearfully at the seated Saiyan. From the side of the room, Fasha spoke up, her feminine voice powerful and harsh, "Believe me, if we had an interest in taking this world by force, you wouldn't have stood a chance. It was Kakarot, Prince Vegeta, and Gohan who freed us, and the reason we want to create this alliance. They've stood as your world's protectors for many years in silence, we aim to do the same for our people."

There was a general murmur of dissent among the world leaders, and one outright said, "Hercule has been our protector!" Hercule stiffened anxiously, but didn't say anything. Chiaotzu was the one who came to their defense, his high-pitched voice ringing out, "I can attest to Goku's feats, as well as his son's. Remember, I've fought him before, and he's always been honorable and strong. If these Saiyans speak true, then their talents will be most welcome in my empire. I will gladly cooperate with you."

"The same goes for me." said King Furry confidently. As they spoke, several in the room considered them thoughtfully. A couple relented, trusting the judgement of the two who had openly welcomed them, and announced their consent.

Bardock interrupted them with a cough and sternly said, "Keep in mind though, we want no part in any of your political squabbles. We will come to the aid of the Earth's people in the even that someone such as Frieza comes, but we will not participate in any human conflict."

A few in the room looked a little put out at that, and glared over at other members of the congregation in barely hidden frustration. Gohan snorted and rolled his eyes, thinking, _Go figure. I suppose I should have expected some of them to see them as an opportunity for political gain._

The discussions continued like this for nearly an hour. Gohan could feel a headache building, and he wondered how anyone could ever want to get into politics. Videl seemed likewise frustrated at the rate things were going, and the two of them had still not met each other's gaze yet. The knot in his chest continued to tighten as time went on, until he felt the urge to leave nearly overwhelm him. Finally, Bardock stood from the table, and everyone's eyes turned to him. "This has dragged on long enough. We've stated our terms, the details can be worked out as we go, what say you?"

The others turned and looked towards each other, the silence in the room hanging heavy over them. Gohan could tell that half of the room was still uncertain, or even openly against helping the Saiyans, but the rest seemed to be willing. Finally, King Furry raised his hand and said, "All those in favor, say 'Aye'." Within seconds, half of the room raised their hands in a similar way, and agreed. After a second or two, a couple of the more skeptical ones grudgingly raised their hands and said "Aye", including the Violet haired woman and the Cigar-man.

Hercule jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands together excitedly and smiling brightly, "Well, that settles it! Welcome to Earth!"

 **BACK OUTSIDE THE MANOR**

Gohan left quickly. He was glad that the meeting had gone as well as it had, and the world leaders had – somewhat begrudgingly – welcomed the Saiyans. It was a heavy weight that was suddenly lifted from his chest. But his thoughts kept straying to Videl, and their argument. He felt bad for carrying it on like he had when his temper was on edge. He reasoned she was most likely right about that woman, and he really shouldn't have tested the waters like that. It was reckless. But more than that, he couldn't help the hurt he felt at her distrust towards Saiyans, which felt like a direct attack at his judgement.

He wasn't out there long before a familiar person grasped his shoulder, and asked, "Hey man, you okay?"

Gohan turned his head over his shoulder and looked at Sharpener. He had to admit, he was a bit surprised that it wasn't Lime who had come to find him. But he welcomed the company anyways. He'd come to appreciate the banter he and the blonde traded over the months. He nodded and looked up towards the sky, watching clouds pass over them. "Yeah…" but then he sighed heavily and started again, "No."

Sharpener stood next to him and gave him a critical look, "What did you two fight over? Really? I'm not buying the whole media thing."

Gohan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, "It started with that Angelina woman. I made a ki ball to scare a bunch of the reporters off. Videl thinks she'll use it against me somehow."

Sharpener shrugged and said with a heavy tone, "She's probably right, you know? She was the woman who published that article on you that said you were dangerous. But again, I figured there was going to be some media controversy over the Saiyans in the first place. I'm sure Videl did too, so I still can't make sense of your argument."

Gohan grunted and crossed his arms, staring down at the ground, "I don't know Sharpy. She confuses me, _still_. Yesterday she seemed okay, and even this morning she seemed fine. But as soon as I came back with the others, she was already mad at me. I dunno, I guess when she started digging into me, I just got mad and started yelling back."

Sharpener stared at him, considering what he said. But then he shrugged and simply stated, "Bitches be crazy."

Gohan pursed his lips and gave him a look that said, "are you serious?", but Sharpener just laughed and said, "Dude, she's still a chick, it doesn't matter how close you two get! They don't work the same way as us! Trust me, she's been bottling something up for months, just like she always does, and today just happened to be the day she snapped at you."

Gohan grunted and said, "Yeah, fine I'll accept that assessment. But it's more than that, I think she's been lying to me about how she's been handling everything. I'm surprised I couldn't sense it, especially considering how close we are. She still doesn't really trust me."

Sharpener seemed to come down a bit after that, giving his friend a ponderous look. He scratched at his neck and said, "Well, that's not so strange man. But, think about it this way, has she ever trusted anyone?"

Gohan groaned and said, "No, but I should be an exception, right?"

Sharpener shrugged and said dryly, "I don't know man. Videl's always been uptight since the thing with her dad. She's got trust issues, and I don't know if anyone will actually help her get over that. She's too stubborn."

That elicited a sigh from the demi. He knew it was true, she was as stubborn as he was. It occurred then that it would make sense for them to argue every once in a while. It was inevitable with two personalities like theirs sharing a home. Sharpener continued before he could speak on it though, "Face it dude, you're just going to have to talk to her again, and this time you've got to keep a level head. No more hiding out here, got it? It's a good day! Don't waste it by being all gloomy."

Gohan glanced over as the blonde clapped him on the back and gave him a reassuring smile, and couldn't help himself, he chuckled. He looked skyward for a moment and then said, "Fine, I get it, you're right."

At that moment, the six Saiyans emerged from the manor alongside King Furry and a couple of the others. It occurred to Gohan that it was kinda odd seeing such a divide in dress, with the Saiyans all in fighting uniforms and the Earthlings in business attire, but he pushed his amusement to the side. The cameras in the crowd started flashing madly, and voices were raised in a frenzied mess. The Saiyans, having heard enough from them already, merely nodded towards the world leaders before taking to the sky and leaving Goku behind on the ground, laughing sheepishly. Goku turned to look at them again and noticed Gohan, beckoning him over with a wave.

Gohan hesitated, but then relented and joined them, trailing Sharpener. As he neared, Goku asked, "Hey Son, you doing okay? I noticed you seemed a bit off earlier."

Gohan sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah dad, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, It's not important."

Goku, needing nothing else, brightened up and said, "Alright, well then, we're all meeting back up at Bulma's! You're going, right?"

Gohan gave a short laugh at his father's change in demeanor and nodded, "Yeah, that's the plan."

With that, Goku gave a wide grin and two-fingered salute before taking off after the other Saiyans, leaving Gohan alone with the King and others. They looked at him wondrously for a moment, before Gohan felt himself grow red under their stare, and brushed past them. "Excuse me, gotta get inside."

He and Sharpener made it back into the building and towards the kitchen, where Gohan suspected the girls must have gone. True to his prediction, they were around the bar table where he and Videl had had their first heart-to-heart conversation since their meeting. It was obvious what they were talking about, considering how quite it got when Erasa noticed him over Videl's shoulder. The three of them turned towards him, and his eyes fixed on Videl's for the first time since their fight. He wanted to hug her, let her know he was sorry, but those bright cerulean eyes were still cold towards him. Lime and Erasa stood, and as they passed him, both of them gave him an apologetic look.

That didn't ease Gohan's nerves any. But he sighed and took the seat Erasa had been in a moment earlier as the other three left. They sat in silence for a while, neither one looking at the other. Finally, Videl spoke up, "I'm still mad at you, you know…"

Gohan nodded and grimaced. He'd expected that, but it still hurt. He tried to keep his temper down as it was threatening to rise again. He took a deep breath and asked, "About which bit?"

The short question elicited a reaction he hadn't expected. She turned her eyes towards him, incredulity written all over her face. "Which bit? All of it, Gohan! The way you acted out there with those reporters, yelling at me when I was trying to help?"

Gohan grumbled and irritably said, "That was helping?"

He immediately wished he hadn't. She sat back in her chair and gave him such a heated glare that he thought he'd melt on the spot. "Sometimes Gohan, you don't get how immature you can be."

Gohan felt his face flush as outrage filled him, and he angrily said, "Yeah, maybe. But how about you? It's pretty immature to be avoiding whatever it is that you're really mad for. What are you really upset about, because I'm having a hard time believing that it's over something so petty. "

She stared hard at him for a moment, and after a second she relented. "It's you, moron. You and your Saiyans."

He glared at her and asked sarcastically, "What, you don't trust us? Think we're going to go around eating people?"

She ignored his tone and spat, "No, it's… it's… Dammit!"

Tears started forming in her eyes and he felt the urge to rush forward and hug her again. But wrestled it back, and just looked at her expectantly, searching her face as she struggled to maintain her demeanor. Finally she picked up where she left off, "I've always been a contender. I fought crime to make a difference, to make up for my father's lie, and I was the best at it, until you! With you Saiyans, I don't stand a chance! I'm pathetically weak by comparison."

He was a bit stunned by that, having not expected that at all. He could feel her anger and frustration shedding from her in sheets. She continued, a tear leaking from one of her eyes, which she brushed away quickly, "During the fight with Buu, I was so hopelessly outclassed. I felt useless, and now that they're back, I'm even less important. You're one of the strongest beings in the universe, they look up to you and you to them, and I'm just another Earth girl!"

Tears started flowing from those eyes that now refused to look at him, and he felt his heart break. All of his earlier anger was gone, leaving a cold pit in his chest. This time, he gave in to his urges, and made his way around the table to embrace the girl. She gave up her fight with herself and latched onto him, and began crying in earnest. It didn't take long for her to regain control of herself, and Gohan shushed her, "Videl… How can you think so little of yourself?"

She sobbed once and then let out a hollow laugh that was choked, but didn't answer with actual words. Gohan just breathed deeply and said, "You're not 'just another earth girl', and you know it. You're my Videl… I'd still be the wreck I was without you. My power is yours, because you're the one who mastered it. You're not weak at all."

She sniffled once and looked up at him, her eyes still bloodshot and sorrowful. He gave her a small smile and waited. A second later, she buried her head in the crook of his neck and clung harder to him, her words being muffled by his shirt, "I'm sorry, Gohan. I shouldn't have kept it in like this… I'm so sorry."

He felt his heart flutter and squeezed her tighter, "And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier. That was stupid."

For a moment, no other words needed to be said. They just held each other, and with each passing second, the knot in Gohan's chest loosened until it came apart entirely. He backed off of her just enough to lean down and kiss her, which she welcomed eagerly. They held it for a moment, during which time an angry sob from Erasa echoed into the room from the hallway, "YOU TWO ARE I-IDIOTS!"

They pulled apart suddenly, and stared in shock at the empty doorway before the two of them shared a glance and laughed nervously. Gohan nodded in the direction of the trio and said, "Should have known they'd be listening in, huh? Oh well, come on. We've got a dinner date with the gang."

She pouted a bit, wiping her eyes and gaining control of her breathing again. She gave him a sad sort of smile and nodded. He held a hand out for her, which she took, and they made their way to join the others.

* * *

 **A/N: Time frame note, it's four months after Buu, which if I recall correctly, I had placed sometime in late November/Early December. Which puts this part of the story in the early part of March, and right before the Son Twins' birthday, and just after the end of the school year that I laid out in the last story. Just for reference.**


	3. History

**Chapter 3: History**

 **THAT EVENING**

If one were to turn on a television set the evening after the arrival of the Saiyans, they would barely be able to find anything to watch _except_ for news on them. The same footage would be playing over and over, with the six figures dropping from the sky. For your average human, they were a bizarre and terrifying sight. Which made what was happening on one particular channel even more terrible.

" _The Saiyans. Today, they visited our little blue planet._ " Stated a male anchor with white hair, who was staring intently at the camera with a solemn look on his face. " _It's hard not to wonder what will come of this meeting. Our field reporter who was on scene collected a lot of information and footage to bring to you, the people. What we have here today is just a glimpse of what to expect in the following days."_

The image paused on him for a moment before switching to the camera feed from the ZTV crew. There was the police barrier, and in the background was a young man wearing a navy blue fighting uniform, standing next to King Furry. Both of them were staring up at the sky. Within seconds, the camera turned skyward at the startled yelp of many of the people around them, and six figures fell from the sky, landing lightly on the front lawn of Satan Manor. An excited babble rose up from the gathered people, and the image froze there, with two of the Saiyans looking directly into the camera. A tall male and a female, both in a strangely familiar type of armor of varying colors, and both extremely well built.

The image zoomed out and fell into a small cutout next to the anchor's head. He stared into the camera and said, " _Just looking at these aliens, it's difficult to miss the similarities to a certain masked vigilante from Satan City: Bardock, companion of Videl Satan. They seem to possess similar abilities to his ike flight, they wear similar armor, and upon further inspection of the footage, it looks like they also have a tail which they stow around their waists. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it seems that our masked man, who first made his appearance last summer, is in fact a Saiyan. This begs the question: What do they really want, and how long have they actually been here among us?"_

The camera changed to another angle, and the image of the Saiyans fell away. The anchor turned to the new camera and continued, " _These aliens look like us, they can speak our language, and they have terrifying abilities. Are we safe? Or is this the beginning of the end? Tune in next week for a special report that will answer many of these questions, from our very own Angelina James, who was at the scene of the meeting, fearlessly braving the storm to get the real story. Now, we go over to Thomas with the weather. Tommy?"_

For the Z-gang, it was an unfortunate, but not unexpected event. Collectively, they had resigned that this was something they would just have to manage, and mitigate when opportunity presented itself. For Gohan, it brought about a few other questions, but the most important was: How would he handle this new problem, this thing that he couldn't fight with his fists? What was he going to do about ZTV's Angela James?

 **CAPSULE CORP. RESEARCH DOME**

Gohan chuckled as his grandmother zipped about, staring in wonder at all the things scattered about Capsule Corporations test labs. He couldn't blame her, he had a similar childish wonder when it came to technology. Gine turned towards Bulma with a huge smile on her face and breathlessly said, "This place is incredible! I'd dreamed of labs like this when we were under Frieza's rule, but this… this is beyond my wildest dreams."

Bulma smiled apologetically and shrugged, "I suppose I'm kinda numb to it now, I've been living here for so long. So, tell me Gine, is this stuff your sort of thing? Technology, I mean."

The small Saiyan nodded and knelt down to peer at something inside a tube that Gohan couldn't immediately identify. "I've always had a knack for tech, that was half the reason that Bardock kept me on the team as long as I was: I could fix the pods in a pinch and get everyone home."

Gohan nodded, understanding the need for such a talent in a combat situation. He considered her, his head tilted to the side. He hadn't really had too much time to talk to her in the few days since Vegeta's recreation, though of his grandparents, she was definitely the wordiest. She had lots to say, but nowhere near enough time to say it, and wasn't nearly as inclined to fighting as he would have imagined. In a way, she reminded him of Erasa, but way less ditzy. He asked curiously, "So, you're something of an engineer then?"

Gine quirked an eyebrow at him and stood, brushing herself off and straightening out her armor. "Well, not really. There isn't a Saiyan alive who could really be considered an engineer… Or any type of scientist for that matter. I think, if you took the collective technical knowledge and skills of the entire population, you might scrounge together enough to make one though."

Bulma and Gohan laughed at her little joke, and Gine smiled warmly. Gohan checked his watch as a quite settled on them, and realized it was already approaching midnight. Most of the Z-gang had left for their homes hours prior. He and Videl had decided to put off further discussion until after they were alone at home, and she had elected to return to their house to unwind and collect herself to wait for him. The only ones left at Capsule Corporation were Gohan, the Brief Family, and the Saiyans. Even Goku had returned to his home with the twins and Chi Chi. While the other Saiyans were with Vegeta discussing who knows what, Gine had elected to accompany Bulma for a short tour of the research building.

He sighed resignedly and said, "Well, I gotta get going. Don't stay up too late, you two."

Bulma rolled her eyes and waved him off, sneering sarcastically, "Sure thing _mom_."

He chuckled and left them standing there in the center of the room, Gine waving at him as he went, and Bulma smirking at his back. As he passed around the corner, Bulma took a deep breath and turned her head to consider the shorter woman, "So, Gine. While I've got you here, Vegeta said you would likely be spending some down time in here. Anything in particular you wanted to look into?"

Gine made a thoughtful pout and looked up towards the ceiling as she considered the question. After a moment's hesitation, she seemed to think of something, "Weeeeell, I don't really know if it's anything that we could realistically find out, but there was a thought that occurred to me during my time in Hell. After Kakarot visited us?" Bulma looked at her expectantly after her initial discomfort at the mention of Hell. Gine met her eyes, and seemed a tiny bit bashful, "I noticed a lot of similarities between Saiyans and Humans where there shouldn't have been any."

Bulma quirked an eyebrow at her and shrugged, "Yeah, there's a few… but why do you-"

Gine jumped back in before the blue haired genius could finish, holding her hands up apologetically, "I guess it's just my own personal curiosity, but I want to know if there's a link somewhere. I mean, your planet primarily speaks the same language as the Cold Empire, with some variation. Aside from the tail, you could confuse most humans for saiyans, and some humans have similar capabilities to us. Add on top of that the fact that Humans and Saiyans are compatible in mating and creating strong, healthy children? Consider my curiosity peaked. I want to know if there's a connection somewhere in the past to explain it beyond mere coincidence."

Bulma recoiled in surprise at that, blinking at the Saiyan a few times incredulously. But the more she thought about it, the more her own curiosity demanded an answer. She felt a hint of excitement in her chest, but then started to wonder about _how_ she was supposed to find out if there were a connection. Sure, there was genetic testing, but the only thing she could realistically establish through that would be that they were a different species _now_.

Gine seemed to notice the change in her demeanor as she thought about it, and blushed a bit, "It's silly, isn't it? I should have guessed there wasn't a way to-"

"Now, now Gine, don't give up on me just yet." interrupted Bulma with a smile. She quickly made her way over to her most recent project and ran her hand across the control panel with a smile. Gine followed her and stared at it quizzically. Bulma just grinned and said, "This is what Gohan and I have referred to as a 'time communicator', though that's a bit of a misnomer really. It's close to being finished after about five years of research and development, but the basic idea is that we gain the ability to see through a window in time, and potentially even talk to people on the other side! I don't know if it will work since we have no way to practically test it, and messing around with quantum displacement and dimensional windows isn't something that we're willing to jump into before we're prepared. _But_ , if we can make this thing work, who's to say we couldn't search through the past and see if there's some part of our history that is linked?"

Gine took a moment to ponder what she said, and asked, "So, it's like the pod your son from the future used to come here prior to Cell?"

Bulma was genuinely surprised by that, and looked like she was about to ask the small Saiyan about it, but Gine interrupted her with a dismissing wave of her hand and simply said, "Kakarot told us."

Bulma shrugged and nodded, "Well then, yes. To a certain extent. That's actually the reason we wanted to make this machine in the first place, to try and talk to the future Capsule Corporation and see if we fixed their timeline by defeating all the androids and Cell, though I still can't figure out how future me managed to fit a powerful enough power source in his ship. Regardless, my son did say that by coming back, he altered the timeline a lot, so we're not looking for time travel. But some closure would be nice."

Gine nodded, a smile lighting up her face as the possibilities presented by the machine before her started popping up in her mind. Bulma sighed and patted the machine one more time before stepping forward and steering Gine back in the other direction, "But that's something we can think about tomorrow. Gohan's right, it's late and I'm beat. How about I show you to your room? We can meet back here tomorrow while the boys are out doing their thing."

 **THE FOLLOWING DAY – SATAN CITY CLIFFS**

Well outside of the City, the air was being ripped apart as shockwaves radiated outwards from the battle taking place. It had been going on for minutes now, and the people at the beach were peering up at the cliffs with a combination of fear and wonder. A hollow boom echoed through the sky as Tora and Goku met once more, the collision of their fists echoing over the waters of the coast. They parted, and Goku patiently waited for the other Saiyan to come at him again. Tora didn't keep him waiting, and sped back towards the Earth-raised Saiyan with a snarl. He spun once and kicked, but Goku merely blocked it and sent a short hook into the Saiyan's gut. Tora was flung backwards with the force of the blow, panting and holding his side as he righted himself.

"Come on Tora, you can take the little runt! He doesn't look so tough!" called Fasha from below, amusement lining her voice.

The Saiyan showed his first real signs of outward emotion and glared down at his female comrade with a snarl, "Then you come try it!"

Goku paused and looked down expectantly. Fasha considered him with a critical eye and smirked confidently. She rose into the air with her arms crossed and settled herself into a ready position. Tora sneered at her and dropped back to the ground without another word, nursing his bruised ribs. Vegeta gave him a disgusted look before returning his gaze skyward.

Fasha made the first move, zipping forward and throwing a blindingly fast series of punches that almost caught Goku by surprise. He yelped once and hastily blocked the first, then caught himself and started blocking just as rapidly as she sent them. Fasha's brow furrowed in frustration at the sudden burst of speed he put on, and redoubled her efforts. She carried her momentum through a deflected right hook and spun, swinging her leg around in a powerful axe-kick. But Goku was ready for it, grasping her ankle and throwing her to the ground below. Fasha let out an aggravated growl as her hands and feet met the ground, and sent up a cloud of dirt. She gritted her teeth and looked back up at him wearing that confident grin, her violet eyes narrowing viciously.

Within seconds, she was shooting back up to meet him once more, growling angrily. Goku didn't give her much of a chance to go on the offensive before he gave her a hard punch to the gut, doubling the Saiyan woman over, and kicking her back down to the ground with a crack like a gunshot. She landed with much less grace this time, staring up at him from her back with her limbs splayed out. She breathed heavily to re-inflate her lungs that had been emptied so harshly by his punch, and coughed once before giving a satisfied smirk, "Well, you're every bit as strong as I would have expected, Kakarot."

She pushed herself back up with a groan and shook her short hair to rid it of dust. Bardock strode over to her and offered her a hand, looking towards his son with pride as Goku dropped from the sky to stand next to Vegeta. She took the offered hand and was pulled up to her feet. She dusted herself off and looked up towards Goku once more, her expression curious, "Kakarot, I've been meaning to ask you…" She glanced towards his father and crossed her arms, "Bardock tried to explain your energy sensing to us while we were back in Hell, but he's not exactly the most articulate guy. Care to tell us how you taught him? I think it could be useful to sense exactly how strong my opponents are, so I can gauge myself."

Vegeta and Goku shared a look, and the prince gave a short bark of a laugh, "You really think that Kakarot will be any better at it?"

Goku gave a chuckle at that and gave him a shove, which caused Vegeta to growl and glare at him out of the corner of his eye. "You picked it up by accident Vegeta, I doubt you'd be able to explain it too well either!"

Vegeta grumbled but didn't respond to that, crossing his arms irritably. Bardock looked towards his elites and shrugged, his face impassive, "I explained it to you the same way he did to me. Gine was the one who caught on the easiest, and Raditz started understanding it after a while. You just have to relax and listen."

Borgos pitched in irritably, "That's so vague it hurts Bardock. You told us to 'listen' to our bodies, but I've been in this one for a lot longer than you four whelps, and there ain't nothing new there. Besides that, how am I supposed to use something in _me_ to sense things out here?"

The others nodded in affirmation, and Bardock looked towards his son helplessly and shrugged. Goku pondered them for a moment and shrugged back. Vegeta sighed angrily and uncrossed his arms with a roll of his eyes. He pointed to the ground beneath their feet and spat, "Sit."

The others looked at each other before shrugging and doing as he said, sitting where they were and looking up at him expectantly from whatever relaxed position they had fallen into. Vegeta grumbled and groaned, "Not like that! Simpletons... Sit up straight, cross your legs, chin up, open the airway and breathe deep."

He barked orders at them quickly, and they seemed to suddenly start responding quicker. Goku watched in wonder at the authority in Vegeta's voice. "Good, now the point of this is to become hyper-aware of your own body. If you can visualize your ki instead of just drawing on it, and _really_ feel it, then you'll be able to see it in others as well. Kakarot is correct, I chanced upon it on my way back from Earth, half-dead and defeated, but that doesn't mean I can't drill it into your thick skulls!"

The four Saiyans sitting on the ground stared right back at his harsh glare, and Goku could tell they were listening to his every word. Even Bardock, who was standing behind the elites with his arms crossed, seemed to be impressed. Vegeta spoke quickly, but not so fast as to be misunderstood, "Now, what you're going to do is close your eyes and meditate. I know it sounds simple, but trust me, you're going to struggle with it. Find the willpower to completely relax and focus on yourself, and nothing but yourself. Then, as Bardock said to you, listen and you should hear it inside you. You will even be able to visualize it, like a light in the dark."

In particular, Fasha and Borgos seemed to be skeptical about that, looking towards each other with a confused expression. Vegeta caught it and barked, "Now!"

They closed their eyes and did as he bid them. It fell quiet on the cliffs, with only the sound of waves crashing against the rocks to accompany them in their silent contemplation. Goku blinked in surprise and looked towards Vegeta with a dumbfounded smile, "Where'd you learn how to do that Vegeta? I don't think I've ever seen you like that."

The prince scoffed at him over his shoulder, "What? You really think I'd spend twenty years in Frieza's service and not get put in charge of _some_ of the pathetic ingrates that filled his ranks besides Nappa and your idiot brother? You have to learn how to lead with strength when you're in charge Kakarot, and not just in fighting strength. That is why you don't get put in charge of anything."

Goku laughed sheepishly and shrugged, not denying that sentiment at all. He came to the same conclusion while he was in otherworld: he wasn't really made of leadership material. He looked towards his father, who was staring at his elites with a stern expression. His demeanor reminded Goku with a sudden jolt: He wasn't much of a Saiyan at all. They were military-minded, and he definitely wasn't. There was too much Earthling in him to really be considered what he was by blood.

 **CAPSULE CORPORTAION**

Bulma and Gine had been working all morning on the time communicator, their efforts spurred on by their shared curiosity. The blue haired genius was impressed with the speed at which the Saiyan woman was able to catch on to things. She had a technically centered mind for sure, and she could see her eyes shift back and forth as she inspected the intricate circuits, piecing them together in her mind. It was like she was tracing the individual paths of data and electronic pulses throughout the entire machine. It was a little unnerving actually, watching her learn so quickly, even faster than she remembered Gohan picking these things up.

Bulma was currently under the large machine, which Gine was all to happy to hold up for her, getting dust and grease all over the both of them in the process as components were removed, replaced, and cast aside. Bulma had nearly laughed out loud earlier that morning when the Saiyan woman had emerged from somewhere in the family dome, looking lost and confused, and irritably tugging on some earth-made clothes that she had donned, which were now filthy. Apparently, none of the Saiyans had ever worn anything that was made from a fabric like cotton before, so the denim jeans and t-shirt seemed to be making her a bit itchy, and her tail was twitching in the air behind her irritably. But once they'd gotten to work, the Saiyan seemed to forget about her discomfort, once again lost in awe at the amount of tech in the research room.

From her position holding the machine up, Gine's voice rang out curiously, "So, I've been meaning to ask: How long have you known Vegeta and Kakarot? I mean, I know about their first fight when my grandson was but a child, but what about you?"

Bulma paused, considering the question for a moment. She went back to stripping wires and screwing them into their respective sockets and said thoughtfully, "Well, let's see. I met Goku when I was… sixteen? I think. And I didn't meet actually meet Vegeta until our little misadventure on Namek almost twelve years later."

Gine shifted the machine in her hands a little with a small grunt, and asked, "Well, then I'm curious. I know you and the prince have mated-"

Bulma interjected quickly, "Married."

"- right, married. But was that out of necessity to make a child, like it was before?" continued Gine. Bulma had to do a double take and looked out from under the machine to give her a quizzical look. Gine seemed puzzled by her reaction and explained, "See, there was a time where Saiyans rarely mated the same way Bardock and I are. It was considered improper under Frieza's rule, if not outright dangerous, though some still did it regardless. There was almost never an emotional connection, and breeding was mostly done without mating, to make our numbers larger and our race stronger. Coupling was common, but for stress and morale, not permanence. Bardock and I were among the first who mated for love instead of need. So, which was it for the prince?"

Her explanation made Bulma's stomach drop. She couldn't realistically imagine a world where love was overridden by anything, much less frowned upon by the majority. She'd somewhat expected a bit of emotional detachment due to the Saiyan's occupation as soldiers, but the way Gine described it sounded cold and empty. It sent a shudder down her back, but then she thought back to her first time with Vegeta and her resulting pregnancy, "Well? Actually, I'm not too sure how to answer that. He wasn't exactly a loving type of person, and it sorta just happened in the middle of an argument that first time. Of course, he didn't stick around to do anything about it until after Trunks was born, so I guess you could say it wasn't out of need so much as an accident. He didn't do the whole mating thing until after the androids, about a year later."

Gine stood there in silence for a moment, the only sounds being Bulma's wrench as she bolted down another wire. When she did speak again, her voice seemed softer, even more curious, "What about now? I understand that you're married now, what does that entail? Is love a part of that equation?"

Bulma chuckled, "Yeah, it is. I love him, even though he's still an arrogant prick a lot of the time. It took me a long time to realize that was what I felt towards him. I'll be honest with you, I think my first love was actually Goku. Big guy was always there for me when I needed him, where Vegeta definitely wasn't."

Bulma jerked in surprise at herself after a moment of ringing silence, not knowing why she'd just admitted that to Goku's mother. Gine hesitated for a moment, and Bulma thought she was going to drop the machine on her. Gine looked down at her with shock all across her features, which made Bulma blush furiously. Bulma laughed sheepishly and quickly said, "It's hard not to love the guy, you shouldn't be too surprised. He was a bit dense during that time though. I mean, he used to think marriage was a type of food for crying out loud. Of course, by the time I realized I had feelings about him, he'd already married Chi Chi and had Gohan."

Gine just continued to gape at her, and Bulma hastily got back to work, bolting down the last wire and replacing the bottom panel. She slid out from under the machine and went to stand. Gine gently placed it back on the ground and leaned up against it, looking towards the Capsule Corp. heiress curiously. "But I don't understand, if you wanted Kakarot, why did you not fight for him? Even Saiyans uninterested in mating fought with others for the right to bed someone of their choosing. Why not you?"

Bulma seemed taken aback, and paused in wiping grease from her fingers before she made up her mind. "He was happy, and still is. So, I'm happy. It's long in the past, and honestly he's kinda like a little brother to me." she finally said with a warm smile.

Gine shook her head and sighed, "I don't think I'll ever understand your ways."

Bulma just laughed and flipped the power switch on the control panel, "It's actually not uncommon to see people fight over who gets who here. We're not so different. My situation was a little different than most though." The large screen came to life, a long list of diagnostics flashing across it in green text, diverting Gine's attention. Bulma watched the scroll of text, looking for anything amiss, and was surprised when there were no reported errors. She took a seat in front of the machine and typed away on the keyboard, with Gine looking curiously over her shoulder. "What do those keys say? Words and commands?"

Bulma spared her a short glance and said, "Individual letters. We've got a fairly short alphabet, but our entire vocabulary comes from it."

Gine paused and looked thoughtful at it, "And these letters make words in this language?"

Bulma nodded, slightly surprised that the Saiyan would be confused by something as simple as a keyboard. "Yeah, why? What did you Saiyans do to communicate non-verbally? Do you have a written language?"

Gine tilted her head to the side, watching her as she typed away, navigating through diagnostics. "Sort of. We learned necessary figures from the Cold empire to operate equipment and read orders. Most of it was numerical. Planets were numbered, power levels were numbered, Saiyans and other soldiers were numbered. Everything else was done mostly by word of mouth, even the control of our pods."

"Huh. I… honestly did not expect that." Said Bulma, staring off into nothing for a moment as she processed that information. "I wonder if the Saiyans had a written language before that? I mean, you couldn't have _always_ been in the service of the cold empire, right?"

Gine shrugged and said, "I guess we can find out."

They both giggled at that and Bulma went back to tapping away on the keyboard. She read and re-read the screen multiple times over, making sure that there was nothing off, even by a thousandth of a percent. She told the machine to run the same simulation to test its circuits at least four times, and each one yielded the same result: The time communicator wasn't showing any faults, all of the redundant circuits were functioning, and the emergency shut-off was functioning properly. It was ready to go.

Leaning back in her chair, she stared at the screen, almost in a daze, "It's ready."

Gine's breath hitched in her throat, and the both of them shared an apprehensive look, suddenly unsure of what to do.

 **OUTSIDE OF SATAN CITY**

"Come on Videl, focus."

Gohan was coaching Videl on her ki training once again. She was standing across from him, her eyes shut and a cold sweat on her brow as she concentrated. She cracked one eye open and sent him a quick glare, "If you'd stop talking, I could!"

Gohan almost burst into laughter at that. She'd told him about her less-than-appropriate thoughts she'd had during her initial training with him, and the effect his voice apparently had on her. He couldn't help it though, he wasn't trying to arouse her through his teachings. Ridding himself of those thoughts, he focused on her and her mental labors again. She was currently attempting to use her awareness to pick out specific ki: Goku's. She was for sure able to sense Gohan when she concentrated, he was sure of that, but she was still struggling with sensing others at the same degree that the other Z-fighters could.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and looked around rapidly, before turning and gazing in the direction of the city. They were on the eastern side of town, out in the meadow near their home. She pointed that direction and looked at Gohan expectantly, "That way?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her and tilted his head to the side, "I dunno, is he?"

She pursed her lips and made an irritated pout towards him, and then nodded, "Yes."

Gohan rose into the air before her, crossing his arms and smirking, "Show me."

Nodding excitedly, Videl jumped into the air, her loose t-shirt flailing about in the wind as she quickly gained speed. Gohan followed closely, allowing a happy bubble to fill his chest. She'd definitely felt Goku, there was no doubt about it. But he wanted her to be able to follow that feeling and be sure of it so that she could repeat it and practice. They passed over the edge of the city, and Gohan felt a nostalgic pang in his gut as he saw the bank where he'd initially appeared as the "gold fighter".

Suddenly, she took a detour, catching Gohan by surprise. He stared after her a moment before shooting off after her and catching up, looking at her curiously, "Why the change of direction?"

Videl gave him an anxious smile and said, "Just a personal curiosity, it won't take long, I promise."

Gohan wasn't sure what she was on about, but followed her anyways. He scanned the buildings passing below them, and realized they were almost to her father's house. He quirked an eyebrow at her back, wondering what she was up to. She halted suddenly and stared down at the house, her brow set and a concentrated glare on her face. Gohan slowed to a halt next to her and stared down likewise, wondering what she was doing. He turned to her to ask, but she held up a finger to silence him, and closed her eyes. A moment passed, and then she smiled. "That's what I was looking for."

Gohan was puzzled, and felt out towards the house, only finding the ki of her father, Uub, and the various staff who maintained the home. Videl's eyes suddenly opened and she shrugged apologetically towards her mentor, "I just wanted to see what my father's ki felt like. He's a bit on the weak side, isn't he?"

Gohan considered her for a moment before laughing. That wasn't what he had expected. He scratched at the back of his neck and began, "See, here's the thing about your dad. When it comes to non-ki-wielding fighters, he is actually the strongest on the planet, and by a healthy margin too. But even compared to you, who - no offense - are a novice, his ki is incredibly low. I'm actually impressed that you can sense him out so quickly. Can you sense any of the others' down there?"

Videl seemed to concentrate, but pouted and shook her head after a moment. "I think I could feel Uub, but none of the others. Can you?"

Gohan nodded and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder when she seemed a bit let-down. "I can, but I've been doing this since I was four, remember? I've literally got fourteen years of practice over you. You'll get there. Now, back to your original task. Find my dad."

She nodded, and closed her eyes again. A few seconds passed as she concentrated, and then turned towards the west coast and sped off again. Gohan smiled after her and then followed. A few minutes of flight passed, and then they found their quarry. Videl whooped to the air excitedly and dropped in altitude, running to a halt on the cliffs right next to Goku, and tagged him on the shoulder. She looked over to her boyfriend and smiled brightly with her hands on her hips, "There. Got him!"

Goku blinked in surprise a few times, looking between his shoulder and Videl. Vegeta gave them both an irritable glare, and Gohan noticed for the first time that the four elites were seated across from them, apparently in meditation because they didn't look up at them. Goku responded quickly, "Got me? Why? Are we playing a game or something? Because I'm sure Goten and Ria would play with you…"

Videl suddenly blushed and looked bashful, tugging on her glove and laughing sheepishly. Gohan rolled his eyes and nudged her with his elbow while giving his father a knowing smile, "Not playing a game dad, she's figuring out ki sensing. She just followed your ki here from home."

Goku brightened up suddenly and laughed happily, "That's awesome! You getting the hang of it?"

She nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. Vegeta just growled in annoyance and spat towards the seated Saiyans, "See?! If a little earth girl can get it, you definitely can. Just concentrate!"

The others jumped at his loud voice and looked towards the new arrivals, and Gohan considered them fully for the first time. All of them looked as frustrated as Videl had been the first time he'd tried explaining how to do it. "You're teaching them how to sense Ki, huh? Any luck?"

He looked expectantly at his father, who just shrugged. Bardock spoke up from behind the four Saiyans, "As of yet, Gine, Raditz, and myself are the only ones from Vegeta who can, though King Vegeta has shown signs of recognition. We're not too good at it yet, but it's progress."

Gohan nodded and mulled the words over in his mind. It hadn't ever occurred to him that Saiyans might not know how to sense Ki. He'd heard his grandfather mention it while training to be an Oozaru, but didn't think anything of it at the time.

Suddenly, Shugesh piped up, looking quite serene with his eyes still shut, "I think I got it."

Vegeta looked down at him, then over at Gohan and his father. Gohan felt Vegeta's ki spike suddenly, and watched Shugesh for a reaction. When the portly Saiyan didn't move, Vegeta huffed and quietly walked over until he was standing right in front of him. Shugesh, who's eyes were still closed, didn't move at all - Right up until Vegeta smacked him around the side of his head, sending the short Saiyan toppling over onto his side with a yelp.

The other three opened their eyes to look over at him, surprised by the sudden outburst of noise. Shugesh groaned and pushed himself up, rubbing at his head and looking up at Vegeta. "Ow, what was that for?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow and said dryly, "I'm not sure if you were lying out of laziness or because you're stupid. If you'd sensed me approaching, you'd have seen that coming and blocked it. Don't do that again."

Shugesh looked a bit sheepish after that, and settled back into a seated position again. After that interruption, Vegeta returned to his previous position and watched them all. Gohan, who had momentarily been stunned by his actions, shook himself and turned back to his father, "Well, anyways. We're going to keep at it." Turning back to Videl, who was still staring at Vegeta, he said, "One more for today. Let's see if you can find Trunks."

Videl started when he spoke to her, but quickly recovered and nodded. Her eyes closed as she searched with her ki. A few minutes passed, and she opened her eyes and looked off towards the east. A moment later, she took off again with an excited smile on her face, and Gohan was short to follow, leaving the Saiyans alone on the cliff again.

It seemed that hours had passed while they were sitting there waiting for any of the Saiyans to sense anything. Long enough for Goku to get bored and lay up against a rock for a nap. Finally, it was Borgos who jolted upright from his position, gaping at Vegeta in awe. The Saiyan prince stared down at him, searching his gaze for something. Borgos took a deep breath and continued to stare back before muttering, "That feeling. All that pressure. That is you, Prince Vegeta?"

Vegeta gave him a confident smirk and stared at him knowingly, but didn't directly respond. Borgos shook his balding head and gulped in disbelief. "I knew that you were strong," he began numbly. "but it is like a campfire compared to a star."

The other three looked at him, and then towards Vegeta, and none of them had words to respond. Behind them, Bardock made eye contact with the prince and nodded, a satisfied smile etched onto his features. "Then there was one more. Keep going, you three. Borgos, continue practicing. It will get easier with time."

 **THREE DAYS LATER: CAPSULE CORPORATION**

Gohan quickly rushed into the research dome, his two little siblings and Lime trailing him breathlessly. They'd been out doing things at the park, as siblings would, for the first time in what felt like ever. As such, Gohan was dressed in casual civilian attire as opposed to his navy gi, and the twins were likewise dressed for their day at the park. From the back of the pack, Lime panted at him, "Gohan! What – is so important – that we have – to run?!"

He turned his head to look at her with a huge grin over his shoulder. He couldn't help his excitement, if what Bulma told him was true, then today could be one of the most eventful in his life. "She said it's working: The time communicator! Remember, I told you about it?"

She gaped at him, then remembered she was supposed to be breathing, and gasped a couple times, sucking air into her lungs rapidly. By the time she managed to collect herself, they had already gone through the first door of the man-trap leading into the research area. The door closed behind him, and she leaned against the wall, panting hard with a light sheen of sweat on her skin. Goten and Ria looked up at their big brother curiously, neither of them having needed to struggle to keep up at all. Ria was the first of them to ask what they were all thinking, "But, what does it do? Why are you so excited about it?"

He punched numbers into a keypad on the wall next to the second door and said over his shoulder, "Think about it, if it _is_ working, then we could see through time, maybe even talk to people on the other side! We might be able to speak to the Future Trunks and Bulma who helped us!"

Lime blinked at him in shock, but the twins perked up excitedly. They had no clue what any of that meant, but they were excited regardless. Lime knew exactly what he meant, but still didn't think that such a thing was possible. The door slid open to reveal a small group already gathered. Among them was their mother and father, Videl, Bardock, Vegeta, Gine, and of course, Bulma. They rushed in and joined them, and were greeted by Goku, who noticed them first, "Hey Gohan! Goten, Ria! Oh, and Lime! You guys ready for this?"

Gohan grinned with a nod, and immediately began removing his clothes from his upper body, surprising several in the room. Videl flush suddenly, either out of embarrassment or excitement, and averted her eyes, much to Gohan's amusement. Chi Chi breathed in disbelief, "Gohan! How indecent!"

Bulma was the only one who didn't seem puzzled or perturbed by the sudden nudity, and collected a set of wires and fabric from the back of the time communicator. While Gohan marched up to a short platform enclosed in extraordinarily thick glass against the wall opposite the machine, Lime spoke up, "Uh… Gohan? What are you doing? I'm confused."

Bulma was the one to answer, walking around the gathered group and trailing a thick cable behind her that hung from rollers on the ceiling. "Gohan made the realization that even with the reactors, patching ourselves in to the city grid, and several large capacitors built up to max, we couldn't produce enough energy to make and keep open the necessary space-time disturbances to see through. We're essentially going to try looking through a man-made wormhole, so we need a lot of power to do it. The last time we saw something like this was with Majin Buu, who somehow ripped a hole in between this dimension and the hyperbolic time-chamber's, but we hypothesized it could be done a few years ago."

Goku stood on the platform and held his arms out at his sides as Bulma started strapping diodes to his skin at the shoulders, each pectoral, his back, and across his forehead. As she was strapping down the ones across his forehead, he asked under his breath so the others couldn't hear the anxiety in his voice, "You're sure that we've got everything set? All the fail-safes are in order? It'd suck to make it through Buu, only to make a stupid mistake now."

Bulma gave him a confident smile and whispered, "Yep. I got the all-clear three days ago, I've been running extra tests and giving diagnostics time to make sure since then. This machine is as ready as it's ever going to be." Then her face fell, and she looked worriedly into his eyes as she completed strapping everything down. "How about you? Are you sure that this is the best way to get the power we need? You're not a battery, if it requires too much and doesn't auto-stop, you might just run out..."

Gohan nodded, though in truth, he wasn't so sure this was particularly safe. But it was worth the risk in his mind. Satisfied that that was all she needed, Bulma turned about and stepped down from the platform and out the door, shutting it behind her with an audible hiss. Videl suddenly rushed to the window of the chamber and looked in longingly, worry etched over her features. Gohan smiled apologetically and nodded to Bulma before the girl could protest. After all, he hadn't told anyone else but Bulma that he'd be the one supplying the energy.

"Right, here goes…" said Bulma quietly, flipping a switch on the board and saying into a microphone jutting out of it, "Remember Gohan, when it starts drawing, go ahead and give a little extra."

As she said it, he felt the machine start drawing on him, causing a peculiar tingling sensation somewhere in his gut as the current from the diodes rushed through him. He started opening the tap on his ki, and suddenly, the machine wasn't asking for power, it was taking it. He groaned in pain and hunched over, clutching to the rails he'd installed in the chamber. Videl jerked her head around and started running towards Bulma to get her to stop it, but was held back by Vegeta. "Wait! What's happening? Gohan!"

Like her friend, Lime seemed stricken with fear, but held it together and asked, "He looks like he's in pain, should we stop it?"

Gine answered for them since Bulma was busy, though her voice was quiet, and far more serious than she usually sounded, "It seems it draws even more than they predicted. Bulma, is this safe?"

The blue haired genius spared her a glance before typing away madly on the keyboard, "So far, we're just in the pre-ignition charging stage, and none of the shutoff switches have triggered yet. Gohan, you doing okay in there? Should I stop it?"

Gohan grunted, his voice coming over the speakers behind them, "No. Keep it going, it's nothing I can't handle. I'm fine."

With that, he stood straight once more, though the muscles the diodes were attached to kept twitching involuntarily. He kept his eyes closed, but nodded with a stiff sort of expression. Bulma hesitated, but then steeled her nerves and continued the process with a nod. She typed a few commands in and then, with one last look over her shoulder towards the demi in the chamber, hit the space key and started the sequence.

Static filled the air, making the collected people's hair stand on end. A whirring noise began somewhere around the back of the machine, and then the floor rumbled as waves of energy radiated around them. Bulma watched the screen frantically as the lights flickered and then went out, and they were plunged into darkness. The sound of Ria's startled squeal echoed in the room, and Lime found herself being clung to around her middle by the small child. She too, was starting to panic.

A series of sparks burned in the darkness from around them, and then, there was an echoing thrum of energy, and an image sparked into life on the machine. They all stared at it, transfixed. They were looking at an image of what none of them, even the Saiyans, could mistake for Earth. Because they were staring into the exact room they were in, with a much older trunks, and a worn and beaten looking Bulma embracing each other as Trunks was hopping down from his yellow time machine.

* * *

 **A/N: Nothing major in the way of action yet, but it's not far off. Don't worry too much. One of the things that I wondered about was the way things went after Future Trunks returned to his time. I know we have the history of Trunks, and a snapshot into the future post-Cell to explain the - technically original - timeline. But I always wondered why Bulma never wanted to pursue her future self's achievements in quantum theory and wormhole study. Maybe it was lack of necessity, maybe she realized the problems it caused? I don't know, I don't need an answer, it's fun to keep it in the imagination and play with it in non-canon fiction. Anyways, TTFN, have a good one!**


	4. Social Discord

**Howdy! So I'll admit, I ran into a fair amount of writer's block on this one. It's true, I introduced Frieza already in chapter one, but nobody else yet. These first few chapters aren't intended to follow the canon story so much, since it's primarily focused on the Saiyans at this point. Anyways, I'll let you get to it. Please review if you see something that I missed grammatically, or story-wise. I'm still catching little things here and there as I go.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Social Discord**

Gohan struggled through the aching in his limbs as he allowed the machine to draw on his ki at a near-alarming rate. He focused hard, watching the screen through the glass, just as all the others were. Even Videl had stopped struggling against Vegeta's firm grasp and was watching intently. Gohan made a realization as future Bulma and Trunks' surroundings made it abundantly clear: These two were very obviously refugees. Nothing in the room looked the same, or even remotely as refined and polished as it was now. In fact, it was cluttered, and the things in the room were mostly junk. He muttered under his breath, "That's unfortunate. It would appear that altering this timeline didn't affect his, they're still in hiding."

A much older Trunks had just dismounted from the time machine, embracing his mother who had been pacing in worry. A jolt of recognition shot through Gohan as he watched, noting that the Trunks on the screen looked exactly as he had when he left after Cell, sword and all. Outside of the chamber, Bulma typed away another command and looked desperately up at the screen. She hit a button and spoke into the same microphone, "Hey, can you guys hear me?"

A few moments passed and there was no reaction from the two people on screen. But their voices came clear through their speakers in the present. Bulmas sounded worn and strained, " _Well? Trunks, how did it go? Kami, you look like you've grown another six inches!"_

Future Trunks gave his mother a sad sort of smile, " _It's a long story mom, I was there for a while. We won the fight… but we lost Goku in the process."_

The Bulma on screen stiffened, but then sighed and said, " _Well, you'd better fill me in._ "

Bulma pressed another series of buttons and said, "Hey! You two, can you hear me?" But there was no response from the two people on screen as they took seats in the room on scattered junk.

From inside the chamber, Gohan said through gritted teeth, "I don't think that we're getting through to them Bulma."

Bulma turned to face him, worry etching her face, "But-"

Gohan shook his head, startling himself with the headache that the energy drain was apparently causing him, "We thought that might be the case, it was a long shot to begin with. Let's just make sure everything went okay. Change the timeframe. Give them a year, let's see what came of it!"

Bulma gulped anxiously and typed away on the keyboard again, and the screen faded to black. A few seconds passed and it came to life once more, this time from outside Capsule Corp, and a startlingly thriving West City. Bulma considered the screen for a few moments before smiling brightly and saying, "Well, that doesn't look like a world being terrorized by the androids!"

Gohan agreed with that assessment, thinking about what it must have looked like with the Androids actively hunting down every human they could find. It certainly seemed like good news. But then he realized something and did some quick math in his head. He felt a pang in his gut and said, more anxiously, "Just… check another five years or so? I need to know."

She glanced at him curiously, as did many of the others. But she complied, typing once more. The image faded, and when it came back, he felt a sinking in his gut. There was nothing but black, speckled with distant stars. Occasionally, a piece of debris would block out one of the stars, but there was no other indication of the Earth's presence. Many of the others stared at it in confusion, but Chi Chi was the one to ask, "What happened?"

Gohan gulped and tensed when another jolt of energy left him, and ground out, "Buu. A lack of fighters on Earth delayed his revival. But Babidi eventually came for him. The Sun was even destroyed, there's nothing left."

Vegeta snarled and averted his eyes, "Trunks didn't stand a chance. He may have been able to destroy the androids and Cell in his imperfect form, but it would appear that in that timeline, even the Kais didn't seem to want to help with that pink bastard. Dammit!"

That left a heavy silence hanging over them. None of them knew what to say to such devastating news. A few moments passed, and Gohan felt his temper flare for a moment. He flinched as another wave of energy slipped from his grasp, and said through clenched teeth, "Hey, guys, I'd appreciate it if we could move on. Not to sound cold, but are we done?"

The others jolted and gave him a surprised look. Gine brushed past a couple of the others and said into the microphone, "Gohan, do you think you can hold on for a little while longer? There's something else Bulma and I wanted to look for, but we don't have an exact timeframe. It could take a few tries."

Gohan groaned and watched her for a moment. Both Gine and Bulma were giving him an apprehensive look. He hesitated, then jolted back to life as another wave of pain hit him. He nodded and quickly said, "Yeah, just make it quick!"

They wasted no more time. The others in the room watched Bulma as she frantically started typing, "Okay. So coordinates are… set! Time frame, Gine?"

Gine furrowed her brow in thought and looked towards the ground. "Let's try an arbitrary number for starters, twenty thousand years?"

She nodded and clicked away, and Gohan couldn't help but recoil in shock and think, _What in the world are they looking for that far back?_

But soon enough, their answer was being displayed on the screen. It flashed into life, and revealed a startlingly well-built civilization that wasn't all too different from theirs on Earth. Tall buildings shone in the light of a red star, with a whole plethora of vehicles flying through them. Gohan stared in wonder at what they were witnessing, but couldn't make head or tail out of it. They watched, and Bardock was the first one to say anything, and his voice was lined with disbelief, "That… That is Vegeta, isn't it? Old Vegeta?"

Gine nodded, a small smile on her face, "It is! Look at it! All those buildings! Is this our past?"

But then Bardock noticed that something was off, and squinted at the screen, "I… don't think it is. Look there, that mountain? Gine, isn't that the mountain where Vegeta's stronghold was built? That building was there for millennia, before we lost all of our history in the Cold empire's purge."

Gine considered it for a moment and then rubbed her chin in thought, "Yeah… It is… Which means, this isn't Saiyan Civilization, these are Tuffles. Look at the structures, they're tiny in comparison to that mountain. It has to be them, they were described as diminutive."

Bulma nodded, and said, "So, this isn't what we're looking for. Let's bring it in a bit."

She clacked away on the keyboard, and a moment later, the image changed again. But the image on screen was very much the same as the one before it, with little variation. She did this three more times before it actually changed, and the new image brought shock to the collected group. There was no bustling city, no vehicles. It was all gone. In it's place stood a pile of rubble and ruin, and several very large beings roaming about without apparent motive, all with tails flailing about in the air behind them.

Gine breathed quietly, "Saiyans."

There was no mistaking it, though they looked primitive in comparison to the Saiyans in the present. There was no Saiyan fortress, there wasn't even a proper building left in sight. None of them wore the armor they were known for, instead wearing a strange type of armor that was a dull grey and lumpy, like a fabric that was melded to their skin. For the most part, they seemed to be devoid of purpose. Two settled themselves into a seated position close enough to be heard through the machine, and the others heard them start to speak. Though it was in the common tongue, they held a peculiar accent that none of them could place, leaving their words disjointed and difficult to understand.

The first, the larger of the two, gazed up at the sky, his wild black hair jutting out in all directions, " _They left us. What was purpose of this? These, small… things. Gone now. Moon rise, and now we wake up, and little people gone. Then Chill leave us? It been many cycles of the sun since we left."_

The second, a slimmer Saiyan with a short cropping of hair, considered him with a glare and snarled, " _What does matter? I am… happy they left. They took us, changed us. For two hundred cycle, before my fourth father, we spent on cold planet, in tanks with needles. Moon supposed to make us great strong, but I don't know what happen. Don't care. Glad to be gone, free of them."_

The original Saiyan grunted with a nod, but said, " _I am too. But still, why all pain, just to abandon us? They named us Saiyan. Killed thousands, changed us to serve, made stronger through needles and hate. I want know we are serving a purpose."_

The second one waved him off, " _The cold ones want soldiers. Stronger than theirs. We slave, they leave us on small person world because it is heavy. Think, they change us, make strong, then send to heavy planet. They want stronger, then come back when ready."_

The first one furrowed his considerably large brow and looked up again. Suddenly, his expression changed to one of confidence, and he growled, " _They make mistake in doing. Saiyan get strong as chill. Make more strong than cold ones. We will destroy when return, be free again."_

With that, the two of them glared back up at the sky, and a few moments passed before Gohan finally broke the silence from within the chamber, "That's it guys. Kill it, I can't take – much more of – this…"

He seemed to sag, and Bulma jolted back into action when he spoke, reaching over and slapping her hand down on the master power switch. The screen went black and the intense whirring sound slowly died down. As the lights in the room came back on, Bulma spun in her chair and rushed towards the chamber containing Gohan, who had sagged down to one knee and was breathing heavily, his skin paler than normal and a sheen of sweat shining on his rippling muscles. She flung the door open, and rushed to his side, with Videl and Lime close behind her. Between the three of them, they quickly got the diodes and straps off of him. Videl and Lime each took one of his arms, and with a strained grunt, lifted him up to standing. Gohan was too tired to keep himself upright, and smiled at them, "Thanks guys. Didn't think that would take so much out of me."

Videl and Lime both gave him a side-long glare, and Videl angrily said, "You'd best be glad you're fine Gohan. That was reckless!"

Lime nodded and said, her voice diminished and anxious, but no less angry, "Seriously. If you'd told me that this was what you had planned to do, I'd have told you to eat a dick."

He chuckled as they half dragged him out of the chamber, seating him on one of the many chairs scattered about the room. "Well, that's why I didn't tell you anything!"

The two girls didn't respond to that, just continuing to look at him reproachfully. The others in the room, bar Bardock and Vegeta, were quickly at his side to make sure he was okay. Bulma waved them off and said reassuringly, "It's an energy drain guys, he should recover pretty quickly."

Gohan nodded tiredly and indicated towards the machine and its blank screen, "Can we just pause a moment and think about what we just saw there? Bulma, you got it recorded, right?"

The others seemed to suddenly remember what they'd just witnessed, and an excited babble broke out between them.

"Those were ancient Saiyans?"

"I wonder what they meant by the 'tanks and needles'. I don't' like needles."

"Did the 'cold ones' mean Frieza?"

"They talked about the moon making them stronger, but they didn't seem to know what that meant."

Bardock said loudly in an irritated voice above the others, "Whoa, relax everyone. Let's discuss it in a way that doesn't test my nerves."

The others fell silent, and Gine gave him a light slap on the back of his arm, giving him a reproachful look. Vegeta crossed his arms and stared down at the ground, "They were Saiyans, but there was a lot of things they said that confuse me. The history of our race was lost thousands of years ago, but it appears that we weren't from that planet originally like we thought. We didn't coexist with the Tuffles until a war broke out, we were sent there to destroy them."

Goku rubbed the back of his head and said, "Well that doesn't seem to out of character. What I want to know about is the whole thing with the 'cold ones'. Do you guys think they meant Frieza and his dad?"

Gine shook her head and said, "No. Frieza's kin may be long lived, but their lifespan is still only a few hundred years at best. I think this must have been when Frieza's home planet was still populated."

A few of the people looked at her, puzzled, but Bardock nodded and said, "Yes, it must be. We all knew that his race's planet was made uninhabitable by the death of it's star. Frieza, Cold, and Cooler were the last members of their race that we knew about. The cold empire back then must have been centralized there."

Gohan interrupted their contemplation with a smile, "But that's just a footnote. Don't you get it? The Saiyans were held on their world for… what did he say, '200 cycles'? Think that meant years? Anyways, I'm going to guess – and it's just a guess – they were being genetically engineered by the cold empire to be some sort of… super soldier. They had no clue what the moon did to them, so the Oozaru transformation must have been something they were made to possess, not evolve naturally."

Vegeta growled and spat, "Genetically engineered? That's preposterous! Saiyans have thousands of years of natural selection and breeding that account for our strength and abilities!"

Goku planted his hands on his hips and pouted, "But Vegeta, we just saw it for ourselves! That machine let us see into the past! They were put there by those guys, they talked about needles and tanks, whatever that means. What Gohan says makes sense!"

Vegeta grumbled and averted his eyes, not commenting further on the matter. Gohan looked towards his grandmother thoughtfully, "But I don't quite understand, what prompted you to want to look for that?"

Gine seemed to realize something, and her expression fell slightly. She looked towards Bulma and sighed, "Well, I had the idea, and Bulma agreed, that there might be a link in our histories where Saiyans and Humans converged. This was interesting to see, but it didn't tell us what we wanted to know."

Bulma nodded and ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, "Yeah, but it was such a vague search for information, and we got lucky with what we did find. If we could look without having to put you in danger kiddo, we might have had more time to really search and find something out. As it is…"

Videl huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at her boyfriend once more, "Yeah, no more of that. It's not worth risking you just to find out."

He grinned sheepishly and waved her down, "I know, I know. I wasn't expecting it to be so rough. I'll search for a more permanent source of energy to power this bad boy."

She averted her eyes and looked away pointedly, mumbling, "Better not, jerk."

That brought forth a small burst of laughter from the others, and they began leaving the room to set about doing their usual daily activities.

 **EARLY THE NEXT MORNING**

It was a cool morning, and Bulma breathed deeply in the crisp air as the sun was rising over the city. She sighed contentedly and watched her husband making his way to the gravity room nestled next to the family dome, clutching her morning cup of coffee. The door had just barely shut when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her eyes skyward to witness something burning through the atmosphere. She initially thought that it was a meteorite, but when it stopped burning up and started changing course, she felt a jolt of recognition.

She gaped at the speck in the sky, sunlight glinting off of it as it descended towards the city. It pulled another sharp turn and started heading straight for Capsule corporation headquarters. She felt the cup of coffee slip from her hands, but didn't pay it any mind as she turned and started running for the door Vegeta had just gone through. She hadn't made it there before the sound of engines roared overhead, and she glanced over her shoulder to see a small craft coming to a sudden halt above and behind her. She stumbled and came to a halt, mere feet from the gravity room door, and turned to face the craft as it touched down.

She shuddered in fear, transfixed on the spot as the reflective canopy of the craft hissed open. But then, suddenly, all of her anxiety fell away as the pilot emerged. He hopped down out of the ship, and Bulma couldn't help but gape at him. He was very short, barely standing at chest height, even to her. He was wearing a purple and white uniform adorned with a large black symbol over his chest that she couldn't identify, with a pistol – or something that closely resembled one – hanging from his hip. His face was a pale blue color, and he had large yellow bug-like eyes settled in atop a surprisingly human looking face.

He stood straight at what was unmistakably a position of attention and raised a hand in greeting towards her. He lifted his chin and said in a light and confident voice, "Greetings, little human! I am in search of someone who was reported to be here, might you be able to assist me?"

She needed a moment to collect herself as the ridiculousness of the situation washed over her. She honestly had never imagined in all her years that something like that would ever be said to her. She stifled a giggle behind her hand, and the short being from space tensed angrily, "What do you find so amusing? You're being addressed by an elite galactic patrolman, I'd suggest you shape up!"

She snorted and got her laughter under control, and addressed him finally, "S-Sorry, it's just, I expected you to be a lot scarier when I saw you coming in for a landing."

The short being crossed his arms, his demeanor no longer as professional as he'd made himself out to be, "Well, you _should_ be scared. As I said, I'm an elite galactic patrolman, and we're renowned far and wide for our abilities."

She gave him a confident sneer and said, "Is that so? Well, Mr. galactic patrolman, you got a name?"

The being suddenly seemed bashful and jolted upright again. "Of course, where are my manners? I am Jaco, Elite member of-"

"The galactic patrol. Right, I got it." interrupted Bulma with a laugh. A moment passed and she felt a strange sense of nostalgia as she looked at him, and apparently his name was familiar too. But she couldn't place where from. She took a step back and knocked on the door of the gravity room loudly, and continued, "My name is Bulma. You may wish to dial back the attitude though, my husband isn't the nicest guy around."

At her words, the gravity room door opened to reveal Vegeta standing there in his usual workout clothes – literally just a pair of shorts and shoes – and wearing an irritated glare. He fixed his eyes on Jaco and spat, "What do you want woman? And who's the pipsqueak? This had better be important."

She sent him an irritable look and said, "Call me 'woman' one more time and you're going to spend a week on the couch buster. This guy just landed on our yard, said he's from something called the galactic patrol and is looking for someone."

Jaco stared at the Saiyan curiously, and surprisingly held his ground when Vegeta fixed him with his icy stare and growled, "So? What the hell even _is_ the galactic patrol?"

Jaco held up a finger and said informatively, "The galactic patrol is an organization formed by the free people of the galaxy, dedicated to keeping the peace across all free worlds."

The two of them gave him a quizzical look, and then looked at each other. Bulma snorted and grumbled, "Would've been nice to have when Frieza was in charge, huh?"

Jaco interjected before Vegeta could respond, saying dryly, "Well, actually, we weren't dumb enough to try and oppose the cold empire directly. We just cleaned up their messes." That caught their attention. But before they could comment, Jaco fixed him with his blank stare and said, "But that's not the point of my visit today. I'm in search of the creature known as Babidi, who is wanted for crimes against the galaxy."

Vegeta sneered down at him and grunted, "You're half a year too late, runt. Babidi and his creations are long dead."

Jaco jolted in surprise and muttered, "Dead? Huh, none of the reports said that this planet didn't have any warriors capable of fighting even a recruit. Humans are supposed to be weak."

Vegeta snarled and crossed his arms, "That's true, but I am a Saiyan, not some pathetic human."

Jaco jolted even harder and gaped at him incredulously. Then he smiled confidently and waggled a finger at the prince, "That's impossible! The Saiyan race was exterminated like, forty years ago! You're funny. For a second there, I thought you were being serious."

Bulma stared at him blankly, baffled by his words. "But… Vegeta _is_ a Saiyan. So is Goku. In fact, there's eight Saiyans, and four half Saiyans on our planet right now. On top of that, the Saiyan race was revived by the supreme Kai, and is back on planet Vegeta again. You don't know?"

Vegeta snorted again, his sneer becoming even more vicious, "Some galactic patrol. You guys must have an even worse intelligence team than Frieza had."

Jaco was frozen in place, and stared hard at Bulma, apparently not hearing what Vegeta had said. "Wait… More Saiyans? How…"

Vegeta rubbed his brow irritably and stepped forward, grumbling, "God, this is getting annoying. Look, I'm only going to tell you once more. I'm a Saiyan. More importantly, I'm Prince Vegeta, prince and heir to the throne of the Saiyan race. You came looking for Babidi. He's dead, so is his father's creation, Majin Buu. The only thing left is that child the Satan oaf is caring for now. So, if you have nothing else, get the hell off of my lawn."

He halted a few feet from Jaco, who suddenly seemed to have realized that he was dealing with a real life Saiyan, and not a human. He took a step back and turned his right hip away from the prince, and Bulma knew his hand had gone to the grip of his weapon. But he didn't draw it, only staring up at Vegeta and saying, "I suppose next you're going to tell me that you're the one who was causing those space-time distortions my ship picked up on the way here too?"

Vegeta pointed over his shoulder with his thumb and snarled, "No, that would be her doing. What of it?"

Jaco leaned around him and fixed Bulma with a stern glare, "But wormhole technology and time travel are strictly prohibited by the galactic patrol!" He shuffled backwards and drew his weapon, pointing it at Vegeta and saying, "Alright! Hands up! Both of you! I'm arresting the both of you for crimes against the galaxy!"

Vegeta hesitated, then let loose a bark of a laugh and sneered down at the diminutive patrolman. "You really think that you scare me with that pea-shooter? Fine gumdrop, you just made my morning."

He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders, and Bulma was immediately upon him, tugging on his arm and yelling, "Dammit Vegeta! No killing! Kami, what am I going to do with you?!" She turned her irritable glare towards Jaco, who was still pointing his weapon at Vegeta, though she could see a sweat breaking out on his brow. "You, Jaco, now would be a good time for you to leave."

The alien stared right back and said loudly, "You're harboring a dangerous criminal ma'am! Saiyans were well known for being merciless and efficient in destroying civilizations. I was sent here forty years ago to prevent a Saiyan child from arriving here in the first place! They're all wanted for their crimes!" Then he added under his breath, "and if I bring in the _prince_ of Saiyans, I'll be sure to get a promotion!"

Vegeta stiffened, the air around them seemed to thrum with energy, and Jaco jolted and visibly shuddered. Vegeta continued to stare at him for a moment, then sighed, "You couldn't even prevent a baby Kakarot from arriving here… You know what? Nevermind, you're not worth my time, runt."

With that, he turned and marched back into the gravity room, slamming the door shut behind him. It wasn't until that moment that Bulma noticed how afraid Jaco actually was, and gave him a confident smirk, "Having trouble with your knees there, hotshot?"

Jaco jumped and looked down at his wobbly knees, and stammered out, "Well, I- uh…" He cleared his throat and stood back up straight, holstering his weapon and fixing Bulma with what was supposed to be a confident stare. "I'm fine, madam. I, uh… I think that I should leave, actually. It appears that that Saiyan is behaving, so I'll overlook his presence for now. As for you, seriously, don't mess around with wormholes. It's a felony. I'm letting you off with a warning, because… uh..."

She crossed her arms and gave him a knowing sort of smile with a raised eyebrow, "Let me guess, you've got another call to take care of?"

He gave her a wilting look and said dryly, "Witty, aren't you? I mean it, don't do it again, or I'll be forced to take you in."

Bulma crossed her arms and considered what he had said, and suddenly her nostalgia made sense and she gaped at him, causing him to flinch and recoil nervously. "Wait! You're Jaco!"

He scratched the side of his head and said, "Well yeah, we already established that…"

She shook her head and excitedly said, "No, sorry, it's just… I'm Bulma Brief! I was a little girl when you visited, you met my sister and my father! We've met before!"

Jaco considered her with his head tilted to the side curiously, "You're sure?" She nodded excitedly, and he mumbled, "You think I'd remember something like that."

With that, he hastily jumped back into his ship, and the mirrored canopy closed again. Within moments, the ship was taking off again and streaking up towards the sparse canopy of clouds. Bulma watched it go in amusement, wondering, _What the hell kind of a start to a day was that? Honestly, who'd have thought he'd show up again after all this time. I thought it was all a dream. Huh, now that I think about it, I haven't spoken to Tights in a long…_ long _time. Maybe it's time I get back in touch with dear old sis?_

She laughed briefly and turned to go collect her coffee mug, resigning herself to go get another one later after she told the others about her strange encounter. She returned to the family dome, and immediately found Gine, who was once again wearing some donated human clothes and milling about in the rec-room at the center of the dome. After a short greeting, the two of them set off to the research building to start their newly made routine of working together on whatever struck their fancy.

 **TWO DAYS LATER – SATAN CITY**

Gohan reflected that Angelina James had been true to her reputation. Within his Bardock disguise, he was irritably wiping what remained of a tomato from the visor of his helmet. He'd not expected such a vehement reaction from anyone, much less the random city-goers who had seen him over the course of the last few months. He lifted off into the sky amongst the angry shouts from below, where a mass of people was gathered, and stared down at them through the hazy film on his helmet. He heard words such as "freak", "filthy Alien", and "murderer".

"Really?" he asked darkly under his breath, staring at them in disbelief. "They choose now to start calling me names? Man, do them a few favors, save the world a couple times, and this is the reward I'm offered? And Videl wonders why I don't like people."

He'd just finished helping out the Satan City police department with a particularly rough bust involving a few overly muscled goons that were hyped up on some drug sprayed inside a surgical mask. They'd been attempting to take over a rail station, though to what end, Gohan had no clue. Even Gohan had to be impressed with the pain tolerance they had, considering he'd had to severely injure a lot of them to get them to stay down so the police could cuff them. But immediately afterwards, a huge crowd had gathered around him. Of the dozens of people, approximately half of them had started shouting at him furiously. One – an old lady, he thought – had thrown the tomato at him.

Willing himself to stay calm in the face of all these people, he growled and left the scene. Once he was out of sight, he hit the buttons on his watch and switched back to his normal city clothes, making sure to hide his tail beneath his jeans. _Might as well keep this put away so that they don't start throwing shit at me again,_ he thought bitterly. He scanned the streets below, searching for a magazine kiosk or something that he could find his new query at. He had yet to see whatever it was the ZTV reporter had said about him. But with the reception he'd just had, he wasn't too hopeful.

Finding what he was looking for, he dropped into an alley and made his way towards the kiosk with his hands firmly shoved in his pockets. He started browsing the magazines, searching for the article he knew had to be there. The kiosk manager, an elderly man with a bushy white beard, leaned up against the counter and asked concernedly, "You alright boy? You seem a little tense."

Gohan paused and considered him before he said, probably a little more venomous than he intended to, "I'm fine. Just a lot of shit happening around me lately."

The old man nodded in a knowing way and said, "I got you kid. Life jerking you around by the balls?"

Gohan hesitated and nervously glanced at him, shocked that he'd say something so crude. He couldn't help but smile and give a short chuckle, "Yeah, I suppose you could say that."

He spotted a magazine with "ZTV Monthly" scrawled across the top in bold red letters, and immediately reached for it. There, across the front cover, was an artist's rendition of him in his Bardock disguise, lit by a dark red hue that made him look menacing, his tail hanging in the air behind him.

"Ah, you don't want to read that trash son." said the old man, catching Gohan's attention again. "I'll tell you honestly, if I weren't contractually obligated to display those, I wouldn't have even put this month's issue out for sale. That James woman spun a horrible article on Bardock and his Saiyan brethren, and even slandered Hercule Satan!"

Gohan watched him for a moment, taking a slight liking to him as he spoke. He gave the old man a curious smile and asked, "So, you don't like what she had to say?"

He shook his head in disgust and said, "No. She didn't even give them a chance to work with us before making them all out to be evil and dangerous."

Gohan nodded and sighed, "Well, I still think I ought to see what she said. Call it morbid curiosity."

The old man smiled warmly and replied, "Well then, if you want to read that trash, I'll just let you take that one since it isn't worth anything to me. I don't care to make money off of that sort of bad publicity. Just, don't get mad at me when you've read it. You seem like a sound-minded and respectful kid, so it's probably going to strike a nerve or two."

Gohan, stunned by his small gesture of generosity, said, "Damn… Well. Thanks! I'll keep it in mind."

He started to walk away, waving over his shoulder at the manager, who waved back and called, "Don't let life get you down kid, it ain't worth the stress."

Gohan turned his attention back to the front, the small smile dropping off of his face as he felt the warm feeling in his gut fall away with the increasing distance from the old man. He took a deep breath, and making sure he was out of sight, took back off into the sky, headed for his home. Videl was off somewhere with Erasa and Lime today, and he wasn't entirely sure when she would be back. So now was as good a time as any.

Within minutes, he was walking up his front drive and into his home, where he plopped down on the couch. The magazine was laid out on the table before him, and he took a moment to mentally prepare himself before opening the cover and reading through the table of contents. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for: _**Saiyan Invasion – the unanswered questions – p.32**_

He inhaled deeply and flipped to the page, and was greeted with the familiar image of the Saiyans standing before the camera crews and King Furry during their first meeting. Gohan ignored the image and started to read.

 _ **Angelina James – ZTV field reporter**_

 _ **Many have been asking over the many thousands of years that we, the human race, have been living on this little blue world: Are we alone in the universe? That question has been answered multiple times in the last few decades. But never so blatantly as last week. Last week, I was among the many people who gathered before Satan manor, home of Hercule Satan, the savior of the world. But with the arrival of the Saiyans, and the many previously un-asked questions that were suddenly answered, we now have to ask ourselves: Is he truly our savior?**_

 _ **Now, you might ask me, why would I level such an insinuation at the man who defeated Cell? Simply put, I believe that there's more that happened behind those closed doors than our illustrious world leaders led us to believe. It may all be speculation, and denied by all parties involved, but it is my job to report what I see. So, let's examine what we've discovered by watching the footage we took, and the history of our world as of late.**_

 _ **When the Saiyans first landed, without the aid of a ship, the first thing that I did was make the obvious connection to Satan City's own violent vigilante, Bardock. Here (fig. 1), you can see the Saiyans appear to have the same brown tail wrapped around their waist as our masked superhero, who first showed signs of having a tail during the explosive and violent events of the twenty-sixth martial arts tournament, though there are only eye-witness reports left to confirm this. This, and the similarities in stature and ability, led us to one stunning conclusion: Bardock is a Saiyan. To many, this will not come as a surprise when they consider his unusually violent temperament and stunning displays of strength. But what might come as a surprise to you is the man dressed in orange in the same picture. We here at ZTV have reviewed the extremely limited footage of the twenty second and twenty third world martial arts tournaments, and concluded that the man standing with them is none other than one Goku Son (fig. 2). Here's the strange part; Goku appears to have the same furry appendage during the twenty second tournament almost twenty five years ago.**_

 _ **It's come to our attention at ZTV that if Goku Son is also a Saiyan, then that means that Saiyans have been among us for a very long time. But who was the first one? Do we have all of them accounted for? They're similar enough in appearance to your average human that it would be unlikely to notice one if they were to walk past you on the street. As far as this reporter knows, they may have been walking among us for a very long time, and in larger numbers than we ever knew. But then there was another unlikely discovery from this meeting.**_

 _ **We reviewed the footage from one of the more destructive invasions from thirteen years ago. In it is an unmistakable, and disturbing image (fig. 3 &4): that of the husband of Bulma Brief, the owner and operator of Capsule Corporation. We do not know his name, but in the footage taken on the day the Saiyans arrived, he is also present alongside Goku. Through our research, we discovered that the Saiyans (Formerly known as "Saiya-jin"), including Mrs. Brief's husband, attacked our planet on that fateful day, and destroyed a very large portion of East city, resulting in a casualty count totaling at nearly twenty-five thousand.**_

 _ **This disturbing discovery leads us to believe that the Saiyan's intent is one that contradicts their friendly words they relayed to Hercule Satan. Why would this race of unbelievably powerful beings suddenly want peace after causing such destruction? No, this reporter believes that they're after a much nastier and grim goal: The domination of our planet by subterfuge, or outright domination.**_

" _ **But what about Videl Satan and her father?" you might ask. Doesn't Videl share the abilities of Bardock, which her own father claimed to be tricks, smoke and mirrors during the fight with Cell? Haven't they been protecting us for years now? Fortunately, we've received a tip-off from an anonymous source gave us this dialogue to shed some light on the relationship between the Satans and Saiyans. It was unfortunately disjointed and filled with static, but we've pieced together what was apparently an argument between Videl Satan and one of the Saiyans, or rather, a Half Saiyan she referred to as Gohan (Believed to be the Saiyan wearing navy blue. Fig.1):**_

 _ **Satan: "You making a blast in front of her crew is just evidence that you're dangerous and can't be trusted!"**_

 _ **Saiyan: "Really? That's what you're worried about right now? *static* - Not the fact that an alien race, that is quite literally able to destroy entire civilizations, is about to open up official relations with these morons? *static*"**_

 _ **Satan: "Yes! Don't you get it Gohan? You're a half Saiyan! You have a tail! They're going to connect you to the others when the get here, and eventually- *static* -connection! You've been seen as a cold and ruthless killer before. What do you think they're going to say when they see the Saiyans for the first time? *static* - Saiyans among us for years, fighting and causing carnage the whole time? *Static* - a long planned out invasion, and you're supposed to be the vanguard!"**_

 _ **Saiyan: "What the hell are they going to do about it, even if they don't like it?! *static* -they're so powerless against Saiyan strength, and if this works out today, none of them will need to know. And if nothing else, we can lean on Hercule."**_

 _ **This startlingly revealing conversation has shown us a couple of things: First, they can procreate with humans, creating a half Saiyan child that is equally as vicious and destructive as their alien parent. And second, this is**_ **not** _ **a friendly visit. It would seem that the Saiyans have been planning this for a long time, and Videl at the very least is colluding with them in their efforts. We do not know why the daughter of the world champ would do such a thing. Could it be jealousy of her father? Is she romantically involved? This reporter, for one, will point out how closely she and Bardock have been working together as of late. There's even a report from another anonymous source that when the two vigilantes took down Hans Gustaf, the leader of the infamous Red Shark gang, they were seen embracing each other as more than just fighting partners. It is my belief then, that Bardock is this Gohan character she was talking to, and someone whom she is likely to be tied to by emotional need.**_

 _ **But what is Hercule's part in all of this? He's our protector, the man who defeated Cell and saved the world from Majin Buu. Or so we were told. There's no doubt that in his prime, Mr. Satan was a skilled and powerful fighter, having won the Twenty fourth and fifth tournaments. But who's to say his fame did not get to his head? What if it was all a ruse laid out and planned by the Saiyans? We've all seen the scraps of footage, and the "remastered" movie portraying the events of that day, and it's all too incredible for me to believe. What if it's all just a power move? Nobody can deny the fame and fortune that has been awarded to the aging martial artist. Coincidence?**_

 _ **Whatever you make of this information and the implications within, it is upon you, the reader, to come to a conclusion. Whether you support these aliens, or your own people. We do not know what the future holds, but I'll be holding my breath and hope that the truth comes out. The leaders of our world have much to answer, and many things to explain before this reporter will rest easy.**_

Gohan stared in disbelief at the pages, his mind reeling. He scanned through it one more time, this time looking at the pictures. There were pictures from the old tournaments, a surprisingly sharp image of Vegeta and Nappa, and one of Gohan standing behind the police barricade, blast in hand. His fingers felt numb as he mulled the words over in his mind.

They'd expected an article that would discredit and accuse the Saiyans of something, but this was far beyond anything Gohan could have thought up in his worst nightmare. All of the accusations that she threw around in that article made it very clear why he'd been treated so poorly earlier, and he realized with a jolt that even the police had seemed distrusting of him. Everything he'd feared would come of the Saiyan's arrival suddenly seemed so petty in comparison. She'd revealed the identity of Bardock, she'd somehow heard his and Videl's argument, and now there was even something for the world to hold against Hercule. It was all falling apart in front of him, and he had no clue what he was supposed to do about it.

Without thinking about what he was doing, he slammed his hand down on the magazine, shattering the glass top of the coffee table and sending pieces of timber scattering about their living room. He stared at what he had done, then snarled and gritted his teeth in an attempt to hold in his anger. But he knew it would be futile. He stood and left the same way he had come, throwing himself into the sky without even closing the door. He rushed towards the first place he could think of, and landed outside the front doors of Capsule Corp.

Vegeta was in the middle of his usual workout, dodging and deactivating drones that zipped about the inside of the gravity chamber with a sharp precision. But just as he was starting to get his stride, a white light flashed, and the gravity generator died out. He turned his attention towards the door of the chamber and saw Gohan, who was stripping himself of his long sleeve shirt and undershirt. The prince glared down at him and angrily yelled, "Brat! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Gohan snarled up at him and spat, "Shut the fuck up! You. Me. Now!"

He needed an outlet, and for many years, Vegeta was his favorite. The Saiyan prince was easily the best candidate to take his rage and come through in one piece, and for the first time in a while, he was going to use it. A vicious look took over his face as the demi powered up, his ki nearly flooring Vegeta. He knew that look all too well, though he hadn't seen it darken the Demi's face in a long time. Whatever was bothering him, it was definitely going to hurt. A lot.

Vegeta grumbled to the machine, "Gravity to four hundred G." The machine whirred back to life, the red light in the room came back on, and the pressure from their bodies suddenly weighing roughly as much as a battle-tank dragged on them. Knowing he'd need it, Vegeta transformed with a strained grunt. Needing no prompting, Gohan initiated their spar.

It was brutal. Gohan was unrelenting in his attacks, throwing punch after punch, kicking with enough force to make Vegeta's arms creak from the strain of blocking. He didn't get a single opportunity to fight back. The first real hit Vegeta took was a straight punch that struck him in the cheek, snapping his head around and carrying him backwards with the momentum. He felt something in his skull give, and a blinding pain radiated out from where he'd been hit He felt blood leaking from the corner of his eye and trailing down his cheek, but Gohan didn't seem to notice, or care. Their furious match built in momentum, until Gohan let loose an enraged roar and launched himself at Vegeta after once again sending the Saiyan backwards with a hard kick to impact the wall. But his aim was off, blinded by anger, and he missed. His fist passed right by the startled Saiyan's face, and buried itself in the wall of the chamber. Immediately, the gravity cut out, and the flashing white light came to life again. Relieved from the intense weight of his own body, Vegeta rounded on the demi and gave him such a hard hook to the face that Gohan immediately dropped into a daze and fell to the floor in a heap.

Vegeta dropped out of Super Saiyan and likewise descended, sliding down the wall until his feet touched the ground. He clutched at his face, and the broken eye socket within, and gasped through the pain, "What the fuck Gohan?! The hell did you break the room for? You're better than that!"

Gohan seemed to come to his senses a bit at his outburst, and pushed himself up, rubbing the swelling side of his face. He looked towards the prince and was suddenly on his feet, concernedly asking, "Shit, Vegeta, you okay?"

Vegeta smacked away his hand as the demi reached for him and snarled, "Fucking shit, I am! What the hell was that for?!"

Gohan stiffened and inhaled sharply, before groaning and looking away from the prince. Vegeta breathed hard and pointed an accusatory finger at him, "You'd better explain. I gathered you're pissed off about something. Spill it!"

Gohan glared at him hard, though nowhere near as intense as it had been before. He hesitated a moment, then said, "You remember we talked about that reporter?"

Vegeta winced as he wiped some of the blood from his aching cheek and growled, "What of her?"

Gohan hesitated again, watching him carefully. Then he took a deep breath and said, "You're not going to like this…"


	5. Media War

**Chapter 5: Media War**

Gohan sighed as his home came back into view. The side of his face was still sore from the punch Vegeta had hit him with in the gravity room. Already ashamed for literally breaking Vegeta's face, he realized with a jolt that he was likely about to get an earful from Videl, Lime, and Erasa. The front door he'd left open was closed now, and he could feel their ki inside. He didn't need to see them to know that at a minimum, Videl was pissed.

He landed and closed his eyes, preparing himself to open the door. Before he'd even touched the handle, Videl's voice rang out from inside the house, "Gohan! Get your ass in here!"

He stiffened anxiously and thought, _Right… She can sense my ki now._

He sighed heavily and pushed the door open, standing in the doorway. They were all there, with Videl and Erasa on the couch, and Lime standing in the kitchen looking apprehensive. They stared at him, and he at them. There was a moments hesitation before he swallowed past the lump in his throat and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Videl continued to stare at him for a moment before indicating towards the mess of glass and wood scattered about the floor in front of her, and Gohan noticed that the magazine was no longer there. She said, a little too calmly for his comfort, "I see you got a bit carried away earlier."

He nodded numbly, keeping his face neutral. Another moment passed and Videl asked him, her face as stern as ever, "You headed east… Capsule Corp? I assume that was Vegeta you were getting into it with?"

He nodded again, and a tense silence hung over the group. Videl sighed and set her head in her palm, covering her eyes, "I should have known this was going to happen. You saw what she said about us."

Lime held up the rolled-up magazine for him to see, her expression distraught, "We just found out too. I still can't believe it…"

He didn't know what to say. He just continued to watch Videl for her next move. When she did, he tensed nervously. But she merely stood and strode across the room to him and threw her arms around his middle in a hard hug. Gohan hesitated, looking down at her in disbelief. Slightly relieved, he hugged her back and rested his chin on her head, letting the scent from her short hair to fill his senses. From the depths of his shirt, she said in a muffled and choked voice, "I'm sorry… Everything you've done, and this is how you're being repaid. With hatred and slander. I… I truly don't know what to do to fix this."

He felt her shudder, and looked hopelessly towards Lime and Erasa, who were likewise taken by emotion. He took a deep breath and said, "Neither do I… or Vegeta. The level of shit she just threw at us, nobody can think of an answer besides to just keep on doing what we've been doing, and hope it blows over."

Videl backed up and shook her head despairingly, "I don't know if that's going to work this time. We can't just pretend this didn't happen. I couldn't even make it into our usual stores downtown without having people yelling at me in mass."

Gohan felt a sinking in his gut that was quickly countered by outrage and fury. He tensed and stared at her incredulously, "What did they do?"

Lime quickly interrupted and said loudly, "Nothing more than words. Don't get too upset with them yet. I have to say though, I just about did something about it myself, considering some of the things they were calling her."

Erasa finally piped up from the couch, her voice diminished and full of hurt, " _I've_ even been abandoned by a lot of my friends because of this. But that's the worst of it so far, I can live without those traitors."

Gohan looked between the three girls and sighed resignedly, "It's my fault really. Videl was right. It was my idea to have the Saiyans come here-"

Videl sparked back up, fixing him with a stern glare, "No, Gohan. Don't start falling into that hole again. The Saiyans need our help to get themselves back up on their feet. The only person to blame for this mess is that bitch Angelina James. So, here's what we're going to do."

Gohan started and looked back down at her, stunned into inaction. She continued, "We're going to fight back. There were just as many people who came to my defense out there as the ones who were yelling, so there's bound to be those who want to give you a chance to prove all the doubters wrong."

Erasa asked concernedly from the couch, "But how do we fight back? Gohan can't just go around silencing them with his fist, he'll only be proving her right!"

Lime, however, perked up and a grim sort of smile came upon her features. She waved the magazine in the air once and said, "She's already unmasked the Saiyans we've had here for years, including the secret identity of Bardock! Just, come out of hiding and then _show_ them that she's wrong!"

Gohan felt his breath catch in his throat and he looked towards Videl, who was nodding at him with a firm expression. He anxiously asked, "Would that help? How do we even get them to listen to us?"

She planted her hands on her hips and looked towards their television that was hanging on the wall, "First things first, we need to find a sympathetic organization who we can get to broadcast-"

Lime suddenly said excitedly, "Capsule Corporation owns a radio and television station where they broadcast their products and such-"

Videl interrupted before she could finish that thought, a frown on her face as she rubbed her chin in thought, "No, that wouldn't work. We need someone who isn't affiliated with us, or it's just going to make matters worse."

"Well… what about that company that recreated the Cell games?" asked Erasa from behind them all, catching their attention. She shrugged anxiously as all their eyes found her and said, even more quietly, "It's just… Don't they have a broadcast station too? I mean, that lady's article must have hurt their ratings pretty bad because they were behind that movie, which a lot of people are probably calling fake now, right?"

They considered her for a moment, and Videl got lost in thought once more, "Actually, that idea's not half bad… I mean, it _is_ all falsified information, but they've got to be hurting right now. We _don't_ have an affiliation with them, but if you're right, they probably want to counter ZTV."

Gohan still didn't see how any of this was going to help, but decided to play along. "Okay, so let's say they do listen to us. What do we say? Who of us would even talk to them?"

Videl considered it for a moment as she pondered his questions, then said with a confident smile, "All of us. You, me, dad, the Saiyans. Transparency, give them the truth. If people are willing to believe speculative bull shit from that whore, they'll have to pay attention to the word straight from the horse's mouth. But first…" she trailed off and gave him an exasperated look. "You're going to clean up this mess, and I'm going to go back out and get another damned coffee table."

Gohan stiffened and laughed nervously.

 **ONE WEEK LATER**

Gohan jerked awake with a jolt. It took him a couple seconds to realize where he was, and he looked over at Videls sleeping form, her back to him and her bare shoulder poking out of the bedcovers as she slept. He let out his breath and laid back on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. It'd been another nightmare about Buu. It occurred to him that even with all the differences that the old Kai had made in him with his full potential unleashed and his soul repaired, he was still prone to the nightmares from his fights. The ones from Cell had mostly passed, but with Buu still so fresh on his mind, it was unavoidable to see the pink terror.

He sighed, willing himself to get back to sleep. He turned to his side towards Videl, wrapping an arm around her waist and finding comfort in her warmth as their bare skin met. He breathed in her scent, and felt her stir. She inhaled deeply and turned towards him, a small smile gracing her face. She didn't open her eyes, only sighing contentedly and settling herself closer to him, nuzzling against his chest. He smiled at the small gesture, happy that at least here, they didn't need to worry about the trials they were being put through. He held her close, waiting for sleep to take him again.

It didn't.

The serene scene was interrupted when he heard the sound of vehicles outside. His ears perked up, his senses jumping into full gear as he waited for them to pass. _Cars? Out here? There's a few of them too, judging by…_ His thoughts stopped at the same time the cars did. Lights suddenly flooded in through the curtains over their window, and he lifted his head to stare at it. He sensed out with his ki, and felt his stomach drop when he realized that there were at least a dozen people outside their home.

He shot up, startling his girlfriend awake, and rushed to the window, peeking out. She sat upright, not caring to pull the covers over her exposed breasts, and asked blearily, "Gohan? Wazzup?"

He only managed to catch a glimpse of their silhouettes in the headlights before he saw the bottle flying for his window, flames trailing a thin stream of smoke as it came. His eyes widened in realization and he rushed back to her, just as the bottle crashed through the window. The glass shattered on the floor at the foot of their bed just as he leapt forward and grabbed her, taking her over the other side of the bed with a yell. Flames erupted up around them, and Gohan gasped in pain as some of the fluid splashed over his back, burning him.

Videl, now fully awake, yelled in shock and furiously put out the flames with the blanket that had come with them. Gohan ignored the pain in his back and turned towards the flames, snarling and growling, "Sons of bitches! What the fuck?!"

He heard excited whooping from outside, and one of the men out there called in a loud voice, "Burn! You alien loving whore!"

It suddenly made a whole lot of sense. Another Molotov burst through a different window, accompanied by the loud jeering of the men out front. Gohan felt the fires of rage burn in his chest, and clenched his fists. Videl, sensing what he was about to do, did the best she could to cover herself with the burned remnants of their sheets as the flames burned higher, and coughed through the smoke, "Go- Gohan! Now isn't the time! Let's- get out of here!"

Hearing her choked voice, he snapped his gaze to her, and hesitated. But her pleading look brought him down, and he nodded. Without another word, he sent a weak blast through the wall behind him, and the two of them rushed through the chest-height hole in the wall one at a time, only to come face to face with one of their assailants. It was just an ordinary man, one who Gohan had never seen before in his life. The man had initially seemed excited with sadistic glee since Videl was the first one through the hole in the wall, almost completely naked except for a sheet. But upon seeing Gohan emerge from the wall dressed in only a pair of his boxers with his tail waving about in the air behind him, and backlit by the fire raging inside the house, he froze in terror. The bottle in his hand continued to smoke for a moment before the man dropped it in his panic to get away.

The bottle burst at the man's feet, and he screamed in agony as flames licked up his legs. Gohan restrained Videl as she attempted to help the guy, torn between wanting to kill their attackers, and wanting to cease the man's pain. Within moments, the flames were consuming the hapless man as he rolled on the ground in a futile attempt to put out the fire, right on top of the burning alcohol. The fire in Gohan's gut got the better of him, and he growled to her, "Let's go. He's done."

Without waiting for her to answer, he leapt into the cloudy sky, dragging her with him. She fought him for a moment, but relented her struggles as their burning home fell away behind them. She shook his arm off and stared back at it, screaming, "Dammit! What the hell is going on?!"

Gohan continued, heading towards West city, as Bulma's was the closest. He said over the wind, anger still coloring his voice, "It looks like some of our little human residents decided to take things into their own hands while we were waiting. Fuck me, this shit is getting _**so**_ far out of hand!"

They continued, Videl struggling to keep the sheets about her. The covered the distance quickly, and within moments, Capsule Corp was in sight. Gohan flared his ki twice to let Vegeta know he was coming, and they started to descend. Within moments, they had landed in the back of the property, behind the family dome. It didn't take long for the door to open, and a very irritable looking prince of Saiyans emerged from the building. He looked them over once and sneered, "What? Do you need lessons on how to please a woman, boy?"

Gohan felt his temper flare, and fixed Vegeta with a furious stare, "Shut the fuck up, Vegeta. I'm not in the mood. Let us in, we need to get some clothes for Videl."

Vegeta seemed to realize that perhaps he shouldn't have mocked them in their current state, and stiffened. He considered the demi's harsh stare, then grunted and turned on his heel. Gohan followed him, leading Videl with an arm around her shoulders. She was still in a state of shock at what had just transpired, and now was staring off into space blankly. He walked through the familiar hallway into the dome, and they were greeted by Bulma, who was wearing a night robe and toting a panicked expression. "Kami! What happened? Are you two okay?"

Gohan shook his head, "No, but we can worry about it in a minute. Videl, go with Bulma, okay?"

Videl gave him a worried look and said, "Your burn..." but Gohan just waved them off, letting them know that it wasn't anything serious. They hesitated, but Bulma nodded and gave her a gentle pull. Videl allowed herself to be lead away by Bulma to collect something to wear, and Gohan stared after them. Vegeta crossed his arms and considered the demi with a critical glare. "What happened brat?"

Gohan continued to watch the two women until they disappeared through the door that led to the Son ward. He clenched his fists and growled, "Some dumb asses decided to attack Videl while we slept. Threw molotovs through our windows. I don't know how they knew where to find us, we moved into that house because it was out of the way."

Vegeta seemed to get lost in reflection, and mumbled, "It seems someone had a death wish. How many of them?"

Gohan grimaced and shook his head, "A dozen or so. Only one is dead, or will be soon. Set himself on fire."

Vegeta sent him a confounded glare and spat, "You let them live? What the hell is wrong with you, boy?"

Gohan nodded after the women and said shortly, "Videl asked me not to. "

Vegeta grumbled, though he knew that he wasn't any different where Bulma was concerned. A few minutes passed in silence, and then Vegeta turned about and passed through the Son ward door as well, leaving Gohan with his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck and paced back and forth.

 _Everything we had was in that home. I don't care too much about the clothes or even the Z sword – hell, nobody would be able to destroy, ore even pick the damned thing up anyways – but pictures, memories... All those things that can't be replaced! Even my watch from Bulma was in there!_ He growled deep in his chest and stared up at the ceiling. _Fuck! My only solace right now is that it won't get hushed up_ because _it was Videl they were after. With that one guy going down, they can't just pass it off as a random fire either. I will find out who is responsible. Someone is going to pay for this!_

His pacing was interrupted as Vegeta made his appearance again, holding a familiar orange gi in his fist. He threw it at Gohan, who caught it and stared down at it. It was one of his father's. "Put that on, brat. I don't appreciate looking at your nudity."

Gohan sent him a quick glare, but conceded his point, and pulled his father's gi on. It was a little tight, particularly around the shoulders, and the fabric irritated the singed skin on his back, but he reflected that he half-way liked seeing himself in orange. It was a little warming, a bit of pride at it twinkling in his gut. But the situation didn't allow him to think on it too long. No longer willing to wait around, he made his way towards the Son ward himself, trailing Vegeta at a short distance. As he suspected, Videl and Bulma had gone to his private suite that had been left open for his use, and both were seated on the bed. Videl was now dressed in some pajamas that definitely belonged to Bulma. She looked like she had been crying, and Bulma was sitting there, dumbstruck as Videl had been upon their arrival.

As soon as he entered the room, Bulma stood and went to give him a quick hug. She held him out at arm's length and said apologetically, "I can't believe it. I'm sorry Gohan… This… Kami, I don't even know how to describe it."

Vegeta growled behind his back, his voice furious, "It was an outright attack on one of my own. Were Earth not my own home now, I'd be marching all ten thousand of our race across it and razing it to the ground."

Gohan gave him a look over his shoulder and said, "Those guys were after Videl, not a Saiyan. Besides that, they didn't get either of us, Vegeta, no need for that." Though in his mind, he added, _yet._

Vegeta fixed him with a stern glare and spat, "You said they were after your mate, brat. You're a Saiyan, no matter what your blood says, and by extension, so is she. Any attack against my people is something I won't tolerate, not now."

That stunned him, and apparently the other two as well. Realizing he had just let his compassionate side show, even if it was masked behind angry retaliatory thoughts, Vegeta grumbled under his breath and left them. Gohan couldn't help the small smile on his face as his words rattled around in his brain. Again, there was that faint glimmer of pride in his gut. Bulma yawned and said sadly, "I know this is hard, but try to get some sleep? We'll go salvage what we can in the morning. I just hope this isn't an indicator of the direction things are going to go."

With that, the blue haired genius left them, shutting the door behind her. Gohan watched after her for a moment before turning back to Videl, who's eyes were still red. She grimaced and her chin quivered, and she rushed forward to crash into his chest. He immediately enveloped her in his arms and shushed her as the tears started flowing again. She sobbed angrily, "How could they? They- they were coming after me! They wanted me to burn for the things that woman said!"

He looked towards the ceiling, begging Dende to give him the strength to not go on a rampage. He gently rubbed her back and said, "I know, I know. But…" He trailed off and held her out so that he could look at her. She refused to meet his eye, and he lifted her chin to look at him, fixing her with a serious stare, "They won't ever take you away from me. If they try again, I won't wait for your approval, I _will_ destroy them. I can promise you that."

Videl didn't respond to that, merely burying her face in his chest again. In his mind, Gohan couldn't help but think darkly, _I dare them to… No, I **want** them to. Give me one reason, a single reason, and I will end them._

* * *

They attempted to sleep, but for Gohan, it wouldn't come again. It took a while for Videl's ki to drop and level off, but she eventually succumbed to the heat radiating off of Gohan. Their borrowed bed creaked slightly as Gohan shifted, removing himself from her grasp. He sat up at the edge of the bed, rolling his shoulder and wincing uncomfortably at the burning sensation on his back. He noticed that like his, Vegeta's ki was still alert and active.

He rose out of bed, curious as to what the prince could be doing at this late hour. Sparing one last look at Videl's sleeping form, he left through the door and made his way in the direction that he could feel the ki. He found Vegeta, surprisingly enough, at the bar in the movie room, drinking from a clay bottle and looking thoroughly disgruntled. Gohan tiredly rubbed his face, and went to join the prince, wondering, _What could he be drinking? It's not a bottle I recognize, but he's looking a little loose right now. It's gotta be powerful stuff if it's actually affecting him._

He sat down a couple stools down from Vegeta, who didn't acknowledge his presence. A few seconds passed while Gohan waited for him to say something before asking amusedly, "How's the face?"

Vegeta gave him an irritable look out the corner of his eyes and grumbled, "Shut it."

Gohan could've laughed at that, but decided it wasn't all that funny anyways. He locked eyes with the prince and asked, "What's the poison?"

The prince considered the bottle with a critical eye, then looked towards Gohan again. A second later, he reached over the bar and pulled a tumbler from behind it. He tipped the earthen bottle and poured a couple ounces of the liquid into the glass, and Gohan had to do a double take. He'd had his share of liquors since Videl's eighteenth birthday party, though none of them were capable of making him, or any Saiyan, drunk without draining a whole bottle in one go. But this stuff looked nothing like the brown, clear, or caramel colored liquor he was used to seeing. Vegeta slid the glass down the bar to him, and Gohan picked it up to inspect its contents. "This is… it's green." he said numbly, sending Vegeta a worried look.

He noticed that it also didn't cling to the glass like most other liquors. And, it fizzed a little, with bubbles rising from the bottom of it to pop through the surface. Vegeta gave the bottle another swig and said, "Gah, tastes like shit… Stuff doesn't have a name, it's a Saiyan concoction that's been around a long time. It slows our liver down, makes us actually feel the alcohol in it instead of processing it out within seconds. For a while anyways. Couldn't tell you what's in it, but it'll shred apart your insides if you don't have the guts for it. I once saw one of the critters from that planet of Invertibrates… what was his name, Sui? He took a swig of it on a dare and spent the next week in a tank getting his entire GI system repaired."

Gohan recoiled as he looked at the contents of the glass, wondering why any sane saiyan would _want_ to create such a drink. He gulped once and threw the back, and almost immediately gagged. It tasted somewhere between aviation fuel and bad licorice, and its consistency was an oily, almost slimy texture. He thought he was going to retch and spit out the fluid, but Vegeta grabbed his chin and clamped his mouth shut with a growl, "Don't you dare. This is the first bottle of this crap that I've had in twenty years, you're not wasting any of it."

Gohan fought the tear in his eye and swallowed the grog – he'd just dubbed it grog in honor of the putrid swill that sailors historically drank to prevent scurvy – and immediately felt a peculiar warm sensation spread from his gut outwards. It didn't hurt like he'd expected it to, but felt the urge to chase it with something that didn't leave such a foul taste in his mouth. He breathed heavily a couple times as Vegeta went back to drinking the grog, and it suddenly hit him. The first thing that really felt peculiar was his teeth, which felt numb as he worked his jaw a couple times. Then he felt some heat on his face, and an almost euphoric calm came over him. He chuckled once and said with a small smile, "Whoa… So this is what humans feel when they drink? Huh, never would've thought it would feel like this. By the way, where the hell did you get it, anyway?"

Vegeta grunted, his cheeks a little colored now, and said, "Old man gave it to me last time me and Kakarot were there. To be honest, I don't know when they found the time to make it since I know it takes these humans years to create a half-decent drink. I suppose that's a trick of the trade."

Gohan nodded and looked up at the clock, and realized that it was already three in the morning. He started when Vegeta slid the cup back over to him, another shot of the grog sloshing around inside. "C'mon, put a little Saiyan fire in your gut."

Gohan chuckled and shook his head in defeat. He threw back the glass and clenched his eyes as the liquor burned down his throat again, and felt that euphoric warmth get a little bit warmer. He pondered the Prince for a moment and asked, "So, why choose now to crack the seal?"

Vegeta grumbled and leaned up against the bar, not looking directly at him, "Having a hard time with some of my recent decisions. My race is back, yet I chose to remain here with Bulma and Trunks. My father disapproves, thinks I should pick them up and move them all to Vegeta. I disagreed and told him I wouldn't be returning, but with the way things are going on this planet, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

Gohan nodded in understanding, having had similar thoughts already. He rubbed the back of his neck and said grimly, "Yeah, not the reception I was hoping for. The fire, though? That makes me want to tear the planet apart."

Vegeta gave him a sidelong glare and said dryly, "You? Didn't you spend the last fourteen years of your life trying to protect these pathetic weaklings?"

Gohan nodded and darkly said, "That was before they decided to attack Videl. I know what dad would say –"

The both of them said in a mocking chorus, "They don't know any better! Give them a chance!" The both of them let out a low chuckle at the accuracy of the other's thoughts, which died away and left a silence hanging over them. Gohan sighed and said quietly, "But that's something I just have to live with, isn't it? I can't leave the Earth behind, and neither can you. Besides, Bulma and Videl probably couldn't handle ten times Earth's gravity. Not yet anyways."

Veget grunted in affirmation and poured him another glass. Gohan took it, and tossed it back. This time, it wasn't nearly as unpleasant. In fact, he thought he was starting to like it. A few minutes passed in silence before Vegeta broke it, his voice a little slurred. "You know, brat. You're an insufferable pain in my ass, but I think of you like a son… Sometimes. Even Kakarot has his moments where I think I can consider him a friend."

Gohan gulped past the heat in his face and gave him a quizzical look, asking, "Vegeta, how much of that have you had?"

Vegeta irritably waved him off and poured another glass for the demi, saying, "Shadap! Don't interrupt me when I'm talking, you little shit… Point is," he slid the glass back down the bar, "I appreciate having you around, having my back even when I don't want it. I'd be dead if it weren't for you and your idiot father."

A few seconds passed as they looked at each other, and Gohan honestly didn't have a single clue what to say. Besides having killed the prince in his mindless rampage while under Babidi's control, he wasn't sure how he'd helped the Prince so much to stir those thoughts in him. He hadn't expected Vegeta to ever say something like that to him, even in his wildest dreams. Vegeta seemed to suddenly catch himself in his thoughts and growled, pointing a finger at him, "Don't you dare tell Kakarot I said it though."

Gohan chuckled and held his glass up towards him in a toast, and said, "Wouldn't dream of it. Here's to our fucked-up lives, old man."

Vegeta fixed him with a stern look, then relented and smirked. He held up the earthen jar and simply said, "Brat."

They clinked the two vessels together, and drank.

* * *

The next morning came much quicker than Gohan would have wanted, and along with his first real taste of alcoholic inebriation, was his first taste of a real hangover. Sure, he'd eaten that weird apple that made him hallucinate when he was just a child, but this actually hurt afterwards. His head felt a lot larger than it was, and he had the urge to eat something greasy to purge his entire system. He awoke with a groan next to Videl, who was still fast asleep. He thought back to the liquor that Vegeta had given him, and thought to himself, _I might have to get me some of that stuff. I'm not fond of the taste, but it feels pretty good once it's in you._

Making a mental note to ask Vegeta about it later, he stood and stretched, feeling his father's orange gi pull on his shoulders. For the most part, it seemed that his back had already healed up a considerable amount, and he felt a bit better than the night prior. Even with the thoughts of the fire on his mind, he wasn't nearly as angry as he'd been before sharing a few drinks with Vegeta. He heard Videl stir behind him, and turned to look at her over his shoulder with a small smile, "Hey, good morning. Feeling any better?"

She blearily opened her eyes and yawned widely, "Not really… But I'll get over it. Where'd you go last night?"

Gohan felt a jolt in his gut, and wondered how she'd known he left their bed, even though he was sure she was asleep. Deciding to think about it at a later time, he simply said, "Couldn't sleep, so I went to have a chat with Vegeta."

Videl groaned and pushed herself out of bed, stretching her arms above her head and cracking her neck before dryly stating, "Well, that explains how you managed to get _back_ to sleep."

Gohan chuckled and gave her a hug, which she tiredly returned. A few minutes later and they were on their way back towards their home at the edge of the city, this time in one of Bulma's air cars. There was news of the arson coming over the radio.

" _Last night, there was a reported fire on the East side of Satan City, where a small home was burned down. When police arrived at the scene, there were several vehicle tracks leading away from the property and back on the main road that ran in front of the house. Police suspect that this was no accidental fire, and the fire department has determined the cause was several liquor bottles that may have been used to set the house ablaze late last night. One individual – who is a suspected member of the arsonists responsible – was found deceased at the scene, though the identity of the victim has not been identified yet due to severe burning covering his entire body. There is not information as of yet as to the owners of the property, or the reason that it was burned down, but we suspect the police will come out and make an official statement soon. More news on that tonight, both here and on television broadcast. And now, we go to Dan for the morning traffic report."_

Bulma shut off the radio and sighed, "Man, sounds like there isn't a lot left to recover. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."

Videl sighed heavily and nodded, "Yeah… At least they're not covering it up as if were an electrical fire."

Gohan interjected, repeating his thoughts from the previous night, "They can't, not with that one guy getting himself killed in the process. The only thing that I wonder about is what the reaction will be when they realize it was _our_ home that these ass holes burnt down. Someone is going to get held accountable."

Bulma looked at him over her shoulder and said, "Well, it sucks to say it, but this might be a bit of a martyrdom that we needed to help out the Saiyans. After all, if it comes out that they were after Videl, it's going to create a lot of backlash for the anti-Saiyan crowd. We've got that interview I managed to get set up coming up in two days. I'm willing to bet this will be brought up there at some point, and could stir some sympathy for you guys. What they attempted was just cruel and cowardly."

Gohan hated it, but she was probably right. It seemed Videl was like-minded, since she grimaced and looked apprehensively out the front of the car. There was no smoke any more, but there was a huge black scar on the earth. It would seem that not only their home, but a fair portion of the surrounding vegetation had been consumed in the fire. Gohan felt his gut sink as they came upon what was their home, which was now roped off with two police cruisers blocking the road, and a single fire marshal's truck behind them. There weren't many people there, but Gohan could tell that there had been a lot of people there that night to douse the flames due to the amount of boot prints in the dirt. As their air car put down, one of the police rushed forward to greet them, waving his hand. Gohan recognized him as one of the sergeants that he'd interacted with at a relatively common occurrence as Bardock. He actually liked this cop and his no-bullshit attitude, but remembered that he'd never seen the demi as anyone except Bardock.

The canopy opened and Videl was the first one to hop out, closely followed by Gohan and Bulma. The cop smiled brightly and extended his hand towards Videl in greeting, then froze and looked in awe towards the Capsule Corp. heiress. He released Videl's hand and gave her a short bow, saying, "Mrs. Brief! Wow, it's a pleasure."

Gohan tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible, not really looking to interact with anyone at the moment. Thankfully, the cop didn't seem to notice, and Videl spoke up. Her voice was quiet though, and Gohan could tell that she was hurting, even though she was trying to hide it. "The fire… Is there anything left in there?"

The cop shook his head, his smile sliding off his face as he looked over his shoulder towards the fire marshal. "Afraid there's not a lot. Whoever did this was thorough with the destruction, though it seems that if they were trying to get a person, they missed their target. We only found one body on scene, and _that_ crispy critter's been hauled off to the morgue." He looked back towards Videl, noticing the distraught look on her face, and concernedly asked, "You okay kid? You don't know who's place this was, do you?"

Videl gulped and nodded, before managing to struggle out, "Yeah… me."

The sergeant blanched and recoiled in shock, looking between her and the wreckage. He ran his hand through the hair at the back of his head and said, "Man, I'm sorry. Wish we'd have known that before. This just got a lot more complicated, didn't it? I'm just glad you weren't here for the attack."

Videl shook her head and mumbled, "I was, though. Gohan here was the one to get us out safely."

The cop seemed to notice Gohan for the first time, and his eyes went wide as recognition flashed through him. He nodded in an acknowledging way and held out his hand, which Gohan hesitantly took. "Gohan, huh? I guess, technically we've met before, haven't we?"

Gohan didn't need to ponder what he meant, and nodded. He knew exactly who he was. The cop gave him a knowing nod and let a smile on his face, "Well, I'm glad you were here. Did you see the bastards who did this?"

Gohan shook his head, saying, "No. We were asleep when they arrived. The only one we saw clearly was the guy who set himself on fire accidentally. I was a little preoccupied with getting Videl to safety."

The sergeant nodded and pulled a notepad from his breast pocket, and started taking notes for a report, asking them questions about what they saw. He raised an eyebrow and said, under his breath, "No need to ask for a motive for this one, do I?" He tapped his pen on the pad in punctuation and looked back up at them. "Well, that's all I'm going to need from you two. I don't doubt that this was your home. There's a sword in there that none of us could budge. Broke a ladder truck trying to pull it up. I'm going to assume that's yours." He looked expectantly towards Gohan, who nodded the affirmative before the cop continued, "Good. Search through the rest of it, try to recover what you can. I'll make sure the vampires stay off your back until you're done."

He looked over their shoulder as a van toting the ZTV logo came around a bend in the road, and Gohan felt the anger in his gut flare. _Of course, they'd show up right after we get here. What else?_ But his thoughts were interrupted when the sergeant said solemnly, "And remember, you guys aren't alone right now. There's those of us who will stand by you against the tide of xenophobic morons flooding the media right now. All you gotta do is ask."

Both Gohan and Videl gave him a grateful smile and watched after him as he called to his three subordinates to join him, and headed towards the oncoming van. Gohan held up the tape, and the two women passed under it. Bulma immediately headed towards the fire marshal, who nodded towards her as she approached in a familiar sort of way, and the two younger people began making their way through the destruction.

Gohan thought he was going to be sick, between the acrid smell and the fact that his stomach was sitting somewhere near his feet. He found the Z-sword, which had been undamaged in the fire. He knelt down heavily on his heels, picking up a handful of ashes. The soot fell from his hand slowly, and he watched it go with a morbid sense of acceptance. Unwilling to let it hurt him anymore, he reached out and pulled the sword up by the hilt. The ashes around it fell away, and the ground cracked as it came loose. He propped the blade upright, with the point sitting in the charred remains of their home, and looked towards Videl. She'd found her way to the one remaining wall, which was severely damaged by smoke and barely standing. She pulled a picture from it, and wiped the glass. She stood there staring at it, and Gohan could feel her anger radiating outwards.

Gohan propped the sword up on his shoulder and made his way over to her, his footsteps muffled by the layer of soot beneath his feet. He looked down at the picture, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It was the picture they'd taken with Sharpener, Erasa, and Lime on their last day of school. They five of them smiled up from the picture, though the smoke had damaged it to the point that it looked dull and faded now. Gohan sighed and shook his head, "We'll make it through this. The people responsible will pay, and we'll make a new home somewhere else."

She ground her teeth together and struggled out, "We shouldn't have to move in the first place. This was _our_ home, where we were supposed to live out our lives. That we're being forced to leave it is inexcusable." She hesitated there, then angrily said, "When we get everything set right, I'm going after that bitch. She's the one responsible, and I'll see her burned for this, one way or another."

Gohan recoiled at the venom in her words, and when she turned her head to look at him, he could see that she was no longer sad and distraught about what had happened. That was long gone, and now all that was left was a fiery anger that burned in her eyes. He felt a strange combination of fear and arousal, and gave her a lopsided smirk, saying, "Damn, I love it when you get angry at someone who's not me."

She rolled her eyes, but gave him a small smile anyways. Resigning that there wasn't anything else left for them to salvage, Gohan turned her about with his free arm over her shoulders and steered her away from the burned down structure. Bulma joined them after a moment, sighing and asking, "Is that all that was left?"

Gohan nodded and shouldered the Z-sword, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that the ZTV crew was actively arguing with the police sergeant, attempting to get through. Gohan smirked and said, "Let's get out of here."

The other two nodded, and they were in the air car within moments and leaving behind their former home. Gohan watched the ground fall away, and said to Bulma, "Remind me later, I owe that guy a drink."

Videl nodded and said quietly, "I wonder if he's right about so many people willing to stand with us. Think there's any truth to that?"

Bulma perked up from the pilot's seat and smiled brightly at them, "Of course! The only reason to think otherwise is because the media is thriving on all the negative bull shit! Trust me, given the right prompting, they'll come out of the woodworks and rally to your defense. Now, let's get things prepared for that interview."

 **NIGHT OF THE INTERVIEW**

Master Roshi, Launch and android 18 sat back and watched the television as the program they were waiting for came on screen. Big animated letters flashed across the screen as the camera floated above the audience, zooming in on the considerable group of people seated in a half-circle there. It was immediately obvious that a couple of them didn't want to be there, much less dressed in what they were in. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Gine were all there, dressed in semi-formal clothing and looking very uncomfortable. Bulma, Videl, Chi Chi, Krillin, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Hercule Satan however, seemed right at home in their assorted dresses and jackets.

The announcer – a tall, skinny white man with a thin moustache and a short cropping of white hair – stood up from his desk as the camera zoomed in on him, and said, " _Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the South City report. I'm your host, Ronny Mason! Now, we've got a special occasion for you today. Generally, our show tends to stay towards satire and comedy, but tonight, we're going to stray into the more serious. Tonight, with us, we have a very special group of people who will be looking to put right some of the wrongs that were brought about by one of those –_ **other** _forms of media, who shall not be named!"_

As he said that, a large scroll of letters saying "ZTV" flashed across the screen in alternating white and red flashes, and Ron Mason stared knowingly at the camera as laughter echoed in the background. Without anything else to say on the matter, he held his hand out towards the gathered group and said rapidly, " _From left to right, we have Krillin Chestnut, Goku and Chi Chi Son, Gohan Son, Videl Satan and her father, Hercule. Gine, his majesty, Chiaotzu, emperor of the Mifan empire and his right-hand man, Tien Shinhan. And lastly, Vegeta, and Mrs. Bulma Brief!"_

Applause echoed out through the television as the camera settled on each of their faces in turn. Of them all, only Krillin, Goku, Hercule, and Bulma were smiling. The rest seemed either anxious, or outright annoyed. As the applause died down, Ron took his seat and planted his hands on his desk, with a smile on his face. " _Wow… Just, wow. I have to tell you all, I'm a little bit speechless, seeing you all here. I've gotta say, when I was told that I'd be hosting a group of Saiyans, I got excited. But then to find out that I'd also be speaking with former world martial arts competitors, world saviors, and people as famous as the Brief's, I think I about had a heart attack. How are you all doing tonight?"_

Bulma was the one to answer for the group, putting on her usual media smile and saying brightly, " _We're doing alright Ron, it's nice to be here. Before we get too much further, I'll just say that I'm a huge fan, I've been watching your show for years."_

Ron mock blushed and waved his hand down abashedly, " _Oh stop it, you!"_ Some laughter came from the crowd, and Ron continued, " _That actually means a lot to me. Thank you. Now! We should get into it, because I've got a billion questions, and only an hour to ask them. First things first, if you wouldn't mind, could the Saiyans let themselves be identified? I'd like to know who to ask what."_

Goku picked up the conversation there, his infectious smile being shown on screen as he pointed them out. " _Well, I'm one! Gohan is only a half Saiyan, but we count him as a Saiyan. Then over there is my mother, Gine, and that grumpy guy over there is Vegeta! He's the prince of all Saiyans, actually!"_

Vegeta stiffened irritably, but wilted under the look his wife gave him. But it was all done so quickly that it was barely noticeable. Ron nodded and looked between the four of them excitedly. He gave them an appreciative look and said, " _Really, I can't thank you guys enough for coming here for this. I know how daunting it must be to come forward after what's been happening for the last week out there."_

Roshi snorted and commented, "I don't know that I would call it 'daunting' so much as 'annoying'." Across from him, 18 shushed him, and their attention went back to the screen.

Gohan decided to respond, and his voice rang out over the television, " _It is, but we don't want things to keep going the way they are now. We want things to smooth out, and figured that some explanation would help put people's worries to rest."_

Ron nodded knowingly and leaned back in his chair, " _I can certainly appreciate that, it's a noble objective. Now Gohan, I'm glad you said something. I hope you don't mind me prying, but one of the things that was brought to light recently was your involvement in some bad-ass crime fighting in Satan City. Care to say your peace on that?"_

Gohan took a deep breath, looking apprehensive. Videl took his hand in hers and gave him a warm smile, which seemed to strengthen his resolve, and he nodded, " _Yeah. That article was right about my identity. I started assisting Videl as Bardock during the school year last summer."_

Ron nodded and pressed on, his curiosity bleeding into his voice, " _I have to ask, why the hidden identity? Wouldn't it have been better for you if people could praise you as you are?"_

Gohan shook his head, gaining confidence with every passing second, " _Not at the time, no. Not so long ago, I was… eh, let's call it troubled."_ At his side, Videl snorted and rolled her eyes, which earned a few laughs from the audience. Gohan raised an eyebrow at her, but continued, _"I didn't blend too well with society, and that attention was something I wanted to avoid, hence the disguise. I've had some help since then, particularly from Videl. Now, with the Saiyans arriving here, it seemed to be the time to let it go."_

Their host nodded and hesitantly asked, " _I've got to bring something else up as well since we're talking about unwanted attention. I understand that recently, Videl was attacked in her private home, and the house was burned to the ground?"_

The audience gasped in shock, and Videl squeezed his hand tighter, a strained expression coming over her face, " _Yes, that is correct. Two nights ago. The police are still trying to figure out who is responsible for it, but we made it out safely, and that's what matters."_

Ron gave her a sympathetic look, then sat up straight and said loudly, " _Well, I for one, am appalled that someone would spit in the face of all of your selfless deeds. I am happy that we can give proper credit to whom it's due, especially for you Gohan. It's hard not to acknowledge the things you've done while wearing that mask, the wrongs you've prevented with such little collateral damage. You and Videl both, you should know that you're heroes. Really, for everyone here, I thank you."_

Applause broke out, and the two teens blushed under the gaze of everyone in the room. Ron clapped with them for a moment, and then said loudly over the bustle, " _Speaking of heroes, I can't tell how much I enjoyed the years of my youth watching the world martial arts tournaments. I was there on the day that four of the men in this room fought for the title of champion! I might have been a child at the time, but I tell you, the fights during the twenty second have stuck with me since then! Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Goku, all of you were there that day, and made the little kid in me squeal like a fangirl when I heard you were going to be on my show."_

Tien stiffened nervously, and a bashful look took over his usually stoic face, while the other three just smiled brightly upon being addressed. Krillin leaned back in his chair and said, " _Those were the days, Ron. I tell you what, the twenty sixth tournament was shaping up to be just as fantastic! It was unfortunate that things ended the way they did."_

Ron seemed to get excited and leaned forward to get a better view of the short fighter, " _We still know very little about what happened then. We were told that that was the point when Majin Buu attacked us, though we all have a hard time remembering it. Maybe you guys can clear that up for us?"_

Mr. Satan said his first words since arriving, his boisterous voice carrying over the crowd, " _That's true. The things everyone heard have some truth to them, ignoring the more ridiculous rumors. One of the competitors, an old rival named Spopovich, had been mind controlled by the aliens and given strange abilities. When my little girl entered the ring, she fought hard, but got hurt. I can still remember the sounds to this day…"_ he trailed off dramatically.

Ron watched him expectantly, his excited smile never fading. The crowd seemed just as transfixed. But Vegeta interrupted the overly-dramatic moment and growled, " _The brat stepped in and destroyed Spopovich in retaliation. That was when the tournament ended, and Majin Buu made his appearance."_

Hercule coughed and laughed sheepishly, and Ron gave Vegeta a quizzical look, " _The Brat? I assume you mean Gohan, seeing as how he's so attached to miss Videl over there, the little love birds,"_ he said deviously. Once again the crowd broke out into laughter and the two teens flushed furiously. Ron continued, " _I gotta say Vegeta, or should I call you 'Prince'? – Well, Saiyan ways seem a bit different than humans'."_

Bulma was the one who picked up here, and gave her husband a sly sneer, " _Not quite so different as you might think, Ron. My husband is just socially inept, like as he was on the day he arrived. But I can't blame him too much, he was raised in custody of what I jokingly call space-hitler. Kinda explains the harsh visage that most Saiyans have, actually."_

Ron actually half-stood out of his chair in excitement, leaning over his desk and grinning at them. " _Ooh, does this mean we get to hear something about the Saiyans' past? Please, I've been dying to know!"_

Vegeta grunted and looked towards Gine, and the two of them started explaining how their race had been bound in servitude under the rule of Frieza with little helpful comments from Goku and Gohan. The crowd watched in rapt attention, and the host's face had dropped from excitement to open awe. When they explained the part about the Saiyan rebellion, Kakarot's mission to Earth, and the subsequent destruction of planet Vegeta, Ron finally interrupted, " _Whoa, there's a being out there who can destroy entire planets?"_

Some of the others stiffened nervously, including Hercule. But Vegeta gave their host a sly smirk and said confidently, " _Not any more. Kakarot-"_ Bulma nudged him in the ribs, and he quickly corrected himself, " _Goku, was the one to bring the tyrant down. With the assistance of Bulma, myself, Ka-... Goku, his son, and Krillin found Frieza and caught him off guard while he was terrorizing a planet called Namek, and destroyed him. In his absence, the Saiyan race has been able to bounce back, find a new planet to call home, and make our own way without the influence of a dictator hanging over us. That's why we want to work with the Earth."_

Ron gave Goku an appreciative look and said brightly, " _Man, it's difficult to swallow all of this information at once! I tell you what, it sounds like you Saiyans are a true 'David and goliath' type of story, up against impossible odds. If your people are as tough as you look, then there's no doubt in my mind, I'd want you on my side if another guy like Frieza showed up!"_

A bell rang on set, catching everyone's attention. Ron smiled at the camera and said loudly, " _Well folks, you know what that means! We've reached the part of the show where we take questions from the audience, both in person and on social media. Please keep in mind folks, with such a large group up here, your best bet to get the answer you want is to address specific people. Now, for our first question."_

The camera shifted, and a young woman with bright blonde hair was shown standing next to a stage-hand who was holding a microphone. She looked right up at Gohan and said, " _Gohan, a lot of people have seen some of the things you've done as Bardock while fighting crime. Some have even called you cruel for the way you've handled people in the past. Do you have a reason for it?"_

Gohan considered her for a few moments, and after a deep breath, said, " _I won't lie to you and say that I've been considerate of the feelings of people I've brought down. In some cases, far from it. When I first showed myself as Bardock at the hospital, I had a bit of a flashback to some of the wrongs I'd seen growing up, and I saw the criminals I fought as a cancer on humanity, something to be burned out. Sometimes I got caught up in the moment, and the injuries that I inflicted were not intentional. But always, it was what I thought needed to be done in the moment to save the people who were in danger. Think of my actions what you will, I'd do it again if it was the right choice at the time."_

Ron nodded and gave him a confident smile, " _Bold words, but ones that I can most certainly respect from a warrior. Next, we have a message on our online forum for Goku: I grew up watching the tournaments, and I idolized you for a long time. Then, after your fight with Jr. you just disappeared, and haven't been seen until just this week. Where have you been?"_

Ron looked expectantly at Goku, who just smiled sheepishly and rubbed at the back of his neck, " _Well, if I'm being honest with you, I kinda got myself caught up in my family and forgot about the tournament until the twenty-sixth. Chi Chi and I had Gohan soon after the tournament and it all kinda blurred together from there."_

The questions went on like that, none of them really striking a particularly strong note. They'd all received a question or two, even Chiaotzu, who had to respond to a guest asking about whether or not he'd be interested in taking a wife. The last question was one from an older gentlemen in the crowd, and he looked directly at Vegeta. " _Vegeta, you hold a position of power within Saiyan society. A lot of people, myself included, are worried that your people are desperate and looking for a new home. If you were to attack us, what could we do about it?"_

Vegeta fixed him in his icy stare and simply said, " _Nothing at all."_

The man fixed him with a stern look and retorted, " _But what about Hercule? We have armies that far outnumber you, if you spoke true about that. Why do you think-"_

 _"I've seen a lot of your movies during my time here,"_ interrupted Vegeta, cutting him off, " _and the common theme when you people make movies about aliens is that the humans are always surprised, there's always a way, and you always come out on top in the end."_

The man fixed him with a hard look and heatedly said, " _Are you suggesting that we're weak? That we shouldn't hope in the face of adversity and impossible odds?"_

Vegeta leaned forward on his knees and stared coldly at him, " _No, I'm saying that you won't always win, take it from someone who's been taken over by an alien race before. Be glad that we are offering you our strength for your own benefit, and not presenting it in anger."_

A silence hung over the crowd, and the older man didn't seem to have a response for that. A loud buzzer rang again, and Ron jolted back into action. The camera switched to him, and he said loudly, " _Ladies and gentlemen, that is all we've got time for tonight! I wish we could keep this going for a whole week, but sadly, these fine ladies and gentlemen have lives of their own to attend to. This has been the South City Report, good night!"_

With that, the exit music for the show played, and the camera zoomed back out, floating back over the crowd and displaying the show's logo once again. The three adults at Kame house looked at eachother with ponderous expressions, and Launch smiled brightly, "Well, that went pretty well! All things considered."

* * *

 **A/N: There were a few references in there. If you didn't immediately catch them they were:**

 **Commander Shepard's comment on the weird green liquor in Mass Effect 2**

 **The show "South City Report" was actually supposed to be a small tribute to the daily show with Jon Stuart and the Colbert report (used to watch these for my daily "news" since actual news programs were unreliable)**

 **I took ideas for dialogue in the interview from Farscape (When D'argo and Aeryn were being interviewed on human TV), easily my favorite sci-fi series.**

 **That's all for today, I'm already working on the next one.**


	6. Celebrations

**A/N: Alrighty, lots of time skips, tried to get in all the relevant information and humor I could, because the next chapter, things will get hectic. Just a fair warning.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Celebrations**

It didn't take long for the interview to go viral throughout the world. Within a week it had reached well over a billion combined views across many online streaming services, and every magazine, newspaper, and broadcasting station was discussing it. It was now two weeks after, and it was still the most popular topic wherever you looked. It would be hard to tell what the general reaction was though, since the subject in question was such a dividing one.

On one hand, Bulma and the police Sergeant had been right: People were standing up and making their voices heard over the noise, in defense of the Saiyan newcomers. Gohan recalled a broadcast that Lime and he had listened to where the host had several callers give him an earful for trying to discredit him and Videl as nothing more than liars and leeches on Satan City tax payers. He'd even seen a magazine with his face on it for a small company he wasn't familiar with, titled "Gohan Son: The thrilling story of the man behind the mask." He'd been amused at that, but decided he didn't really care too much to read it.

But on the other, there was now an active movement to try and remove the Saiyan presence altogether. Gohan was just glad that so far, there wasn't any real organization to it. But in Satan City alone, there had already been two large scale protests that blocked off entire sections of the city. There had even been a few rare instances where people had been injured during the protests, though it hadn't been determined whether or not it was malicious intent or just an accident.

All in all, he'd adjusted fairly easily to having people know who he was. Of course, it helped that he stayed well out of the way of the public eye as often as was possible. On the rare occasion that he was followed or confronted, he'd simply take to the skies and fly away. He'd reflected multiple times that while annoying, it was literally just that. He'd been worried about letting himself be known for so long, and now that he was, it wasn't nearly as bad as he'd dreaded. But this night was really the first time he'd be getting out there and showing his face properly to staring them all down.

He and Videl were on their way towards Satan City from Bulma's, where they'd been staying since the fire. Videl had received a call from her usual blonde dispatcher, and received word that there was a huge fight that had broken out at the large mall downtown, and police were struggling to get things back under control.

Videl's watch beeped again, and Gohan looked over his shoulder at her as they made their way past the edge of the city. Videl irritably pressed the button and said in a professional tone, "Go ahead."

Gohan was slightly surprised to hear the voice of the police chief, with whom they hadn't spoken to in a while, "Videl, it's good to hear your voice again. I take it you and Bardock are on your way?"

Videl nodded but corrected him, "Gohan. And yes, we're on our way. Why?"

The chief stumbled on his words for a moment, then said, "Er. Right. Gohan, sorry, I'm just used to calling him… Nevermind. We've gotten more word on what's happening down there. It appears that there's a large group of people who are taking advantage of our current social climate to get in some looting at the mall. Most of the shops are already closed down, but there are some people trapped in there."

Videl sighed and shook her head in disbelief, "Really? You've got to be kidding me… Okay, we'll help out where we can, chief."

The chief hesitated, then said, "Just… take it easy on these guys, okay? We don't want any casual-"

Gohan grumbled and snapped at him irritably, making sure he was heard through the watch, "We got it, chief."

Videl glared at him and cut the transmission, asking heatedly, "Why'd you get all pissy? Can't blame the guy for asking."

Gohan glared back for a moment, but then relented and said, "Yeah… You're right, I'm sorry. I just don't like it when people tiptoe around me like that."

She shook her head with a roll of her eyes and said dryly, "Neither do I. I get why you have a problem, but you can't get like that every time someone looks at you nervously."

"Yeah yeah…" he grumbled, trailing off. They'd reached their destination and touched down amidst a small crowd of police officers in riot gear preparing themselves to head into the mall. Immediately, all eyes were on them, or more specifically, Gohan. He was wearing his usual Navy blue gi, courtesy of Lime's Grandfather, and it was very obvious to all the police who exactly he was with his tail wrapped snugly around his waist. He stared them down, waiting for any of them to react for a moment, before the guy in charge – a Lieutenant in normal uniform – confidently strode up to them.

"Ms. Satan. Mr. Son. I'm glad you could show up." said the Lieutenant with a courteous nod to the both of them. Gohan was slightly stunned to be called "Mr. Son", but hid it well.

Videl put her hands on her hips and nodded once, asking, "What's the situation? Normally, you guys wouldn't need us for dealing with a few burglars."

The Lieutenant sighed and clasped his hands together behind his back, "You're right, but this isn't a 'few burglars', and there's still a lot of people caught in the middle who aren't a part of it."

Gohan asked, "How many?"

The cop considered him for a moment and shrugged, "Unconfirmed number. Estimates for the people doing the looting is somewhere in the ball-park of two hundred. As for people stuck inside, we know about approximately thirty. What we're worried about, the reason we called you in the first place, is to try and get those people out safely. We've got enough numbers here that we can control the crowd with tear gas and the like. But we want the innocents out the way before we go in just in case someone decides they don't want to cooperate with us."

Videl looked towards the mall as a loud crash of breaking glass rang out towards them, followed by the loud shouts of the people inside. She asked towards the Lieutenant without taking her eyes off of the entrance, "That all you need us to do?"

The Lieutenant nodded and looked up towards Gohan, "Yeah, that's all. We don't need you to intervene with any of the burglars unless they're about to do something extraordinarily stupid. I'll leave it up to your discretion."

Gohan gave one quick nod in his direction, then looked towards Videl. They shared a small smile, then leapt into action, soaring through the air on their way to the mall. Gohan couldn't help the happiness in his gut as they made their way in, his thoughts straying towards the Lieutenant and the police's reaction to him. It didn't feel like they were judging, a lot of them seemed to treat him no differently now than before he'd been unmasked. In fact, he thought he'd detected a hint of familiarity with the police that had been utterly missing before his identity became public knowledge. The thought brought a smile to his face. _It's not so bad, I think I can get used to this._

* * *

It turned out, the more time he spent doing things as Gohan instead of Bardock, the easier it got. Gohan had dealt with each call like that first one with ease, receiving little more than harsh words from a few bystanders. The police had formed a bit of a warm atmosphere around them when he showed up, like they were really glad to see him now, and that did more to help his reputation than anything he'd ever said. It seemed that now, even Videl and her father were mostly out of the crosshairs. And nobody was willing to attack Capule Corporation the same way they had done to Videl. In-house security aside, it seemed that the presence of the prince of Saiyans there was enough to deter even the most violent of the Saiyan's protestors.

But tensions were still high. There was a sharp division in the Earth's population, and unlike most political issues that Gohan had ever cared enough to pay attention to, this one seemed to be a household subject. Where the opposition didn't have a real means to lash out at the Saiyans, they took it out instead on their fellow man. Half a year later, there were still forums ablaze with the conversation, people on the streets could be heard talking about it, and Gohan received even numbers of friendly and no-so-friendly greetings when he was seen. The few violent protests that had started as a result of all of this were easily handled, and soon, stopped happening altogether. It came to be that he wasn't even afraid to go out with his tail outside his clothing anymore. In fact, the wide berth that it gave him was to his liking. He still didn't like people, and this was only reinforced when the skies had grown suspiciously dark during the middle of the day, which appeared to have been the work of Shenron, though none of the others had any inkling of who could have found them so soon after they had returned to their normal state. The event had been flung out through news channels as an apocalyptic event brought on by the Saiyans.

But through all of the political turmoil – which Gohan steered clear of, considering it both bored him to death and made him absolutely furious – they had not been idle. He and Videl had moved into a new, much larger home, this time taking up residence further between West and Satan city where there were wide expanses of planes and forest. As of yet, they had totally avoided public attention. It had come as a surprise to both Gohan and Videl when the large house had been paid for, and given to them, by Hercule after only two weeks of their homelessness. Hercule had told Gohan that while he was still uncertain of him, and their relationship, he couldn't stand by and watch as something so horrible happened to his little girl and not do something to help.

Initially, Gohan had attempted to refuse the offer, even with Hercule withholding the cost to his own personal budget. In the end, they had accepted his offer, and moved in with a fair number of furnishings already in place in the home. In truth, Gohan was stunned by his generosity, having never have expected something so important from the old fighter. Sure, he'd taken on Uub as his charge, but that had been in a circumstance where there weren't many options left, and the death of the child was one of them. With the way he'd been behaving since their fateful meeting atop that tower, Gohan couldn't help but think that Hercule was actually starting to grow on him.

In regards to Uub, Gohan had developed an unexpected liking for the child. Even knowing that Uub was the remains of Majin Buu wasn't making it any more difficult for him to like the boy. By the reckoning of Bulma's physical examinations, Uub was somewhere around two years and nine months old in human years. And like all two-year-olds, he vomited, ate, slept, pooped – sometimes in a trainer toilet – and babbled like a maniac at all times of the day. It had become less of a chore, and more of a mildly entertaining daily routine for Gohan. And on top of it all, the dark-skinned child was strong, even with as slowly as he was growing compared to the twins. He'd sent his surrogate father reeling from a block thrown at his head, which left a sizeable welt on the champ's forehead. Whenever Gohan, Goku, or Videl wasn't there to watch him and Hercule was out of the house, the boy had been left in the care of Ms. Piza, the red-haired publicity manager whom Hercule had been seen with during the Cell games. Videl had a suspicion, and Gohan agreed, that the two of them had been seeing each other in secret for a while now. But they didn't pry.

The Saiyans had made progress with the technology they were after, and relations with a few of the nations across the globe were going according to plan. In the time since their initial arrival, Bulma and Gohan had been working hard on adapting the tech which Gine was familiar with into their own. The result was an impressive leap in their space flight technology which allowed travel in a non-standard method. Much like Goku's instant transmission – which Gohan was trying hard to learn how to do – the new ship cores they had designed were capable "hopping" through folds in space, cutting out vast distances of space entirely. Their first ship had been built, and taken its maiden voyage across the stars, with the four elites of Bardock's team at the helm and the first load of agricultural equipment stowed away on-board inside Bulma's favorite dyno-caps.

With the bounds in their progress, it left them all with nothing more major than worrying about getting the Saiyans on their feet to weigh on their conscience. 18, Krillin, and Marron had finally moved away from Kame island, settling in Satan city, which held 18's favorite shopping district. Bardock and Gine had decided to stay with their son, and were actively taking lessons on Earth life by spending their day-to-day with Goten and Ria. Gine had even taken to following Chi Chi around the kitchen when she wasn't working with Bulma, observing and learning the art of cooking from the Son matron, in which few were as proficient. It still amused Gohan every time he saw the two elder Saiyans, no longer decked out in Saiyan battle armor, but wearing spare clothing offered to them by the Son family.

And the biggest event of the year, and possibly of Gohan's life, was about to happen. He'd finally struck up the courage to ask Videl to marry him, not long after her birthday, just a few weeks prior to today. It seemed odd to him, they'd been "married" by Saiyan standards – what little standards there were – for close to a year. But going through with it in the way he'd grown up knowing, the way it was done on Earth, was a daunting task which he was still hesitant to do. He knew there was no reason not to, and all of his prior fears of getting her into trouble by being too close were now irrelevant. But it didn't make it any easier.

He could still remember how nerve-racking it had been to ask her. He didn't fear of rejection, he feared he would mess it up somehow. Erasas had let slip that her best friend was longing for marriage, and had been since she was a little girl. While it had initially surprised him, Gohan had realized that he'd never actually given it any thought, just assuming that they would be together no matter what. Slightly ashamed that he hadn't considered Videl's feelings on the matter, he made up his mind. He'd gone with Lime into town that day, his stomach flipping all over the place and a nervous twitch in his eye as she coached him through the process of buying a ring.

"Now, with her, you don't want to go over the top ridiculous. Remember, she's a bit of a tomboy, and I'm willing to bet that getting a rock big enough to sink her to the bottom of her father's pool isn't her idea of a good accessory," she'd said in an excited, but informative sort of way. "Here, like this one!"

He could still see that first ring in his mind's eye. It was a large stone, he couldn't recall how large, set into an ornate gold band that sparkled brightly in the light of the show-case. He'd given her a skeptical look, wondering if she was serious. Somehow, that large of a rock seemed to be the exact thing she'd just described to him as being "too big". It just didn't seem like it would work with Videl. But within seconds, he'd seen the one that fit her in his head: A smaller cut diamond set into a smooth and simple white-gold band, and immediately a smile had taken over his face. Of course, Lime had been a little put-out by his decision to buy a smaller ring than she'd suggested, but the result had been exactly what he was hoping for.

That night, they'd gone wandering in the fields outside their new home as the sun was falling in the sky. He clenched the little box in his pocket, his nerves getting the better of him as they walked, and he could practically feel steam coming out from beneath the collar of his shirt. She noticed how tense he was, and had asked, "Gohan, did something happen out there today?"

He wasn't sure how to respond to the question, and just nodded dumbly, redoubling the grip on the box. She hung on his arm and looked up at him concernedly, a worried look on her face, "Well?"

Gohan swallowed past the incessant lump in his throat that had formed earlier that day, and began, "It's just… uh… I've been thinking…"

He trailed off, not quite meeting her gaze. She looked at him expectantly and squeezed his arm nervously. Steeling himself against his nerves, he took a breath and continued, "Well, it's about… us. It's just, we've been close for a while now, and we're living together and all…"

Videl recoiled and gave him a confused glare, "And?"

Gohan finally met her gaze and took a step away from her. She didn't stop him, but watched his movements nervously. He clenched the box in his hand and removed it from his pocket, though he kept it hidden in his palm. He'd continued, "And… it got me thinking… We're so far along, and I can't help but feel that I've been needing to do something else, like I'd been forgetting something. I… Well, I know how much you've been wanting to… what I mean is…"

He struggled to find the words, and realized that the entire speech he'd made in his mind had completely left him, and now his mind was vacant and uncertain. Videl gave him an amused smile, waving her hand in the air to coax the words out, "Well, come on, say it."

He coughed nervously and gave her a small smile before dropping to one knee. Videl froze, her back going rigid and her face dropping to an astonished gape. He held up the box and cracked the lid, accidentally ripping it off in the process. He stared at it for a moment before tossing the lid to the box over his shoulder with an anxious laugh. Feeling the sweat on the back of his neck once more, he recomposed his face and asked nervously, "I.. want to make it official, before all our friends and family. Before everyone. Videl, will you marry me?"

They'd been frozen like that for what felt like a century as the question seemed to rattle around in her head. She looked between the ring and his face, her eyes searching and her jaw slack. A moment passed, then her breath had picked up rapidly and a huge smile spread across her face. Without any warning, she'd tackled him to the ground, her arms wrapped firmly around his neck and her lips pressed hard against his, and all of his previous anxiety gave way to an excitement that had left his fingers shaking. He didn't need to hear the stammered-out affirmation by her, or the excited bouncing that had taken over her as he tried – after one failed attempt thanks to his shaking hands – to put the ring on her finger. It was set, the date was made, and everyone had been informed.

And today was the day it would all be happening. Of course, news of their betrothal had _somehow_ made it out to the public's knowledge, but he honestly couldn't care less. They weren't in any position to stop it. But as a result, the turn-out had been much more than they expected initially, with almost a hundred guests arriving to witness the marriage of the world champion's daughter to the former masked vigilante. He stood at the end of a long aisle running between the large group of standing guests. Piccolo, Goten, and Sharpener all stood behind him and – much to Piccolo's chagrin and everyone else's amusement – were dressed in sharp suits. He himself had been dressed in a white tuxedo by his mother, which had apparently belonged to Goku at some point. Chi Chi couldn't seem to get a hold of the water works, and was currently flooding the front row with used tissues and tears. Opposite him was Lime, Erasa, and Ria, all of whom were dressed up in sun-dresses of a light-yellow color. And finally, at the head of the aisle was Chiaotzu, who had agreed to use his authority as the emperor of the Mifan empire, to marry them.

Unlike when he'd asked Videl to marry him, now there were no nerves, only apprehensive excitement. Their vows were ready, the stage was set, security was in place outside to keep out the rabble, courtesy of Vegeta, and she was about to join him. Little marron came into view first, scattering flower pedals as she skipped down the aisle excitedly. The music played, and when Videl rounded the corner with her father, the whole room went silent in awe. Gohan could hardly believe his eyes. She was in a floor length dress which flared out at the hips, but hugged her waist, and ended just below the shoulders in an elegant cut that crossed her chest, just barely revealing enough cleavage to make Gohan's blood boil. The hair that she had started growing out again was tied back in a bun, and she'd put on a little makeup for the occasion. But the most amazing thing was that bright grin that seemed permanently glued to her face. Their eyes met, and in that moment, there was literally nothing else left for him to see. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever laid eyes on.

The ceremony came and went before either of them knew what was happening. Gohan was lost in her image and the torrent of feelings raging through him, barely noticing as he went through the vows, witnessed all the tears and heard all the sobs, catcalls from Yamcha and Krillin, and thundering applause. The only moment of the Ceremony which he'd really come to his senses was when Chiaotzu told him he could kiss her, and he did. He dipped her back, earning a small "eep" from her and pressing their lips together to the thunderous applause of the audience. He could have remained in that moment forever, and Videl seemed to be affected similarly. Before Gohan knew what was happening, they were being swept away in the back of one of Hercule's limos, off into their new life as the newest Mr. and Mrs. Son. That day, it seemed nothing could go wrong again for the couple.

 **ONE YEAR LATER, ONE AND A HALF YEARS AFTR THE ARRIVAL OF THE SAIYANS – PLANET OF THE KAIS**

The ancient Kai was staring off into space, his younger counterpart standing tall next to him. He grimaced and stared hard into the distance, trying to piece together his thoughts and feelings. Kibito-Shin spoke up without taking his eyes from the sky, "It's him, isn't it? Beerus. He's finally come back?"

Old Kai held his hands together behind his back and sighed sharply, "It would seem so. How long has it been since he last made his appearance?"

Kibito-Shin considered him for a moment and commented anxiously, "Forty years. But for him, that's a short amount of time to be asleep, considering his track record. It's been six million years since the last meeting of the Gods, long before I was born of the tree, and never in my time have I actually seen Beerus."

That made the old Kai extremely nervous. He'd been imprisoned in that slab of rock for sixty-five million years, and it seemed that things had really turned sour with the ancient god since then. It wasn't uncommon back then for Beerus to ignore the Kais and do what he wanted, destroying planets for something as petty as bad food, but he at least had a shred of respect for his opposite number before their little argument. He could feel the old god stirring, his unnatural power radiating through the universe, only apparent to the other Kais due to it's bizarre nature. Old Kai sighed heavily and gave his student a sideways glare that was full of apprehension. "We need to tell the lesser Kais, have them prepare for the onslaught."

There was a moment of hesitation from them both, then the Old Kai turned towards Kibito-Shin and said worriedly, "And make sure that those Saiyans don't find out about this? Particularly that Goku. He never could control his mouth, could he?"

 **EARTH – WEST CITY**

Goku and Vegeta were at each other's throats once more, their sparring match building furiously as the two of them struggled to gain dominance over the other. Their fists met high above the ground over the wastelands north of West city. Below them, Gohan, Videl and Bardock watched them. All four of the Saiyans were out today on their weekly ritual of sparring matches, and Videl had chosen to accompany them out of curiosity.

Gohan had fallen into his new role as a husband very easily, having already been doing so for months prior their marriage a year ago. Of course, their wedding had brought on new waves of public outrage at the thought that the daughter of the champ would marry an alien, which still persisted as a low grumbling within the public voice. A new group _had_ formed in opposition of the Saiyans, despite the efforts of Gohan and Videl. They called themselves the Anti Saiyan coalition, or ANTISA for short, which he always got a kick out of. If he could say anything for them, they were persistent and noisy, even with a distinct lack of Saiyans on Earth for them to oppose.

The Saiyans had, for the most part, remained scarce on Earth. With the help of Bulma, they'd created a small fleet of transport vessels based on their prototype, to transport goods and people. With the Saiyans abilities for elemental manipulation and Bulma's advanced fabrication units, they had quite easily created the parts necessary with materials from both Vegeta and Earth. Where previously it would have taken almost a year to reach planet Vegeta with a ship such as the one that took Goku to Namek, they'd been able to shorten it to a mere quarter of that with these new designs. Of course, Goku could almost instantly move people to and from Vegeta, but considering how often the Saiyan was off doing whatever it was that Goku did without letting anyone know, it wasn't something to rely on. Gohan suspected that his father was disappearing off to the Kai planet for training. Three times, four of these brand-new vessels had made the journey between worlds, carrying the promised agricultural and technological goods back to Vegeta, as well as vast supplies of food and water.

In return, the Saiyans had divulged their knowledge of the old healing chambers that Frieza's forces had been given to speed up recovery. At approximately the same time, Bulma finally managed to get her hands on some of the coveted Senzu beans from Korin, courtesy of a now mustached Yajirobe. She'd gone through approximately a month of testing and chemical analysis before she realized that she could create a similar - though weaker - concoction with materials on Earth, providing a means to create the fluid for the chambers to accelerate healing when introduced to a strong electrical current. An added bonus was that now, they could grow Senzu's themselves, though even the weaker ones wouldn't be ready for consumption for several years. But the development of these new tanks made recovery after sparring matches much quicker, which the Saiyans did a lot, including the demon trio, who were coming of the age when their hormones were just barely starting to make themselves known. Trunks, being the eldest at nearly eleven years old, was starting to lean out and shoot up in height rapidly, while the two nine year old Son children were still smaller and chubbier.

As it stood now, the only Saiyans who remained on Earth were Goku, Prince Vegeta, Bardock, and Gine, plus the four half-breeds. Gohan sat back on his hands, giving his grandfather a curious look as they watched the other two go at it, "Which one of them do you think will take it this time?"

Bardock flicked a rock from near his crossed legs and shrugged, "Hard to say. Considering the two of them refuse to transform when they do this, it could be either one."

Videl just gaped up at them, watching from next to her husband. Ever since she'd learned how to sense energy, she'd been completely left in awe of what the Saiyans were capable of. It had been enough to discourage her from trying to get too much stronger it seemed. Gohan had been slightly let down when she'd come to him earlier in the week, confessing that she felt like she needed a break from training to focus on school instead. But he hadn't given it much more thought, he felt he could understand her reason.

A loud crack drew their attention skyward again. Vegeta let loose a roar and rebounded from the hard kick Goku had given him, breaching Goku's defenses while the younger Saiyan was unprepared. He thrust a fierce uppercut up underneath Goku's ribs, then followed up with a rising elbow that caught him beneath the chin. Both Saiyans went shooting off into the sky even higher, Vegeta giving chase to his stunned opponent. Gohan squinted up at them, having minor difficulty keeping them in focus. Bardock glanced over and noticed, and gave his grandson a reproachful look, "You need to stop doing that."

Gohan and Videl jumped a little and turned to face him curiously. Gohan raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "Stop doing what?"

"That," said Bardock irritably, pointing at his face. "The thing with the eyes. You look like you're going blind or something."

Gohan blinked in shock and pondered his statement for a moment. Bardock had already returned his attention to the fight, and after a confused glance towards Videl, Gohan returned his eyes as well. He could see Vegeta tumbling back to Earth with Goku close in tow. His father drove a brutal kick down into the shoulder of the Prince, further accelerating his descent. But Gohan was no longer paying too much attention. He thought, _Again, people are telling me that I'm squinting a lot. I noticed it was getting a little blurry at distance, but I'm not squinting for real, right?_

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he caught himself in the act, and growled in irritation. _You've got to be kidding me… Shit, I am squinting. Dammit, I was hoping that I was imagining things, but even during the fight with Buu, I noticed I was having a hard time focusing on things properly. I suppose I ought to go see Bulma, just to make sure there isn't anything actually wrong._

Up above, Vegeta had just gotten the upper hand. Goku had misjudged the Princes' movements, and his leg went sailing right through where Vegeta should have been. Only, the prince was instead swinging himself around with an impressive display of ki control, and slammed Goku hard in the kidneys with a knee, stunning him into inaction for a moment. He reached around and grabbed Goku up in a rear choke, interlocking his hands and repeatedly kneeing Goku in the back.

Goku wailed in pain with each one, but it died out quickly, and Gohan couldn't help but be impressed with Vegeta as his father faded into unconsciousness as he struggled against the blood choke. He'd thought that Goku would be able to fight off the prince, as he had done many times before, but it appeared that this time, Vegeta had managed to take enough out of him for the choke to really work. Vegeta let go of Goku's neck once he had gone limp, and Gohan could feel his father's ki stir and flare as the blood rushed back into his head. Goku caught himself with his ki just a bit off the ground, and landed heavily on his rear, breathing deeply and rubbing the side of his neck.

Vegeta seemed to sag and dropped after him, landing on his feet and hunching forward while he forced the air into his lungs. He gave Goku a critical eye and said, "Got you, you nit-wit."

Goku laughed and shrugged with a cough, and admitted, "Yeah, you got me Vegeta. I gotta say, I'm impressed with how much better you've gotten."

Vegeta growled and stood straight, "Keep your praises to yourself, Kakarot."

Goku tensed and gave the prince a disapproving look, "No need to be a prick. For all you know, I was taking it easy on you!"

Bardock and Gohan both stood, preparing to prevent the argument that was bound to happen, and Bardock said irritably, like he was chastising a pair of children, "Now, now, you two. That's enough."

Vegeta gave him a wilting glare and muttered, "Last I checked, I'm older than you. Bossing me around…"

Gohan chuckled and snorted in amusement, "By a technicality, Vegeta. He's still your elder."

Goku however, didn't seem to catch the meaning of any of it, and just chuckled in hi usual Goku-ish way. Videl watched their interaction with amusement and said from her seat on the ground, "Hey, how about Gohan and Bardock now? It's been a while since I've seen Gohan really put any effort into a fight."

The four Saiyans considered her for a moment, and Gohan gave his grandfather an excited look, "How about it gramps? Want to give it another go?"

Bardock gave him an appraising look and crossed his arms, before a confident smirk took over his expression and he said, "You're on."

Gohan chuckled, and the two Saiyans walked a short distance away, passing both Goku and Vegeta as they returned to their positions near Videl to watch. Bardock uncrossed his arms and said confidently, "Care to make it a bit more interesting? How about a super Saiyan battle?"

Gohan seemed a little taken aback, but shrugged, saying, "Why not? I think I remember how to do it."

With that said, Bardock clenched his fists at his sides and growled deep in his chest. With a sharp yell, the golden aura of a Super Saiyan flared up around him, and a cloud of dust kicked up. Gohan gauged his grandfather for a moment with a critical eye, then closed his eyes in thought. It'd been long enough that he actually had to search for the transformation in himself, having not needed it since before his final fight with Buu. He couldn't even remember where he'd once pulled Super Saiyan three from. When he found it, he ripped it out with a grunt, and his aura exploded about him, just like his grandfather's. Videl stared hard at him, a thrilled smile on her face, which Goku noticed. He sat down heavily next to her and considered her with a curious look, "What's so exciting, Videl? You've seen him do that before, right?"

Videl jumped a little, and a light blush colored her cheeks as she looked towards her father-in-law. She shrugged and said, "Well, it's been a little while, hasn't it? I'd forgotten how much I like the whole super-Saiyan look. Heh, it's kinda funny that people used to think he was a golden glowing god when he showed up like that at the bank."

Goku looked puzzled at that, and just returned his eyes to the other two as the battle commenced. Bardock made the first move, sprinting forward with a fist retracted. His punch met air as Gohan ducked underneath it, but he recovered quickly and blocked the return sweep as the demi's leg swung towards his feet. Bardock's unorthodox fighting style was difficult for Gohan to predict, and a surprise uppercut from his grandfather met no resistance, forcing the air out of him as it slammed into his gut. Gohan marveled at how much the older Saiyan had improved since his arrival on Earth, and reflected that Vegeta must have been allowing him to use his precious gravity room to build up his speed and strength.

Gohan backed off and breathed heavily a few times, giving his grandfather an appreciative smile. The excitement for the fight flared in him even hotter, and as soon as Bardock gave him a smirk of his own, he launched himself at the Saiyan. He drew from his years of experience in forming his own style of martial arts, pulling evenly from Turtle and Demon style fighting. The contradicting types of fighting created a potent combination of powerful full-bodied attacks and a strong defensive capability, and within seconds, he had Bardock on the ropes. He landed two punches before Bardock could gather his own defenses, and the older Saiyan seemed to hesitate in panic for a second. But once he caught on to the general movements of Gohan's body, he was able to counter with a fair amount of success. Their movements picked up in tempo, with blocks and punches wrecking the air around them, sending out a new shockwave with each meeting. The both of them were wearing a satisfied smirk as the battle continued. For Bardock, it was a true test of his skills, and for Gohan, it was just an exciting spar that wasn't weighted down by a dire need to win.

With a sharp kick to the head, Gohan sent Bardock reeling backwards. Before he could capitalize on it, Bardock flipped himself over and took to the air, sending a rapid hail of blasts down towards his grandson. Realizing that the older Saiyan was getting more serious, Gohan smirked devilishly and pumped ki into his hand, swatting several of the weak blasts away to detonate in the air or on the landscape before him, making sure to not send any behind him to the onlookers. When Bardock finished, Gohan leapt into the sky after him, sending a white beam directly towards his chest. Bardock roughly batted aside the single blast with a grunt, and Gohan used his distraction to circle the older Saiyan, and drove a powerful round-house kick into his lower back. Bardock gasped in pain as the kick sent him reeling back towards Earth, and he couldn't stop himself in time. He slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and bouncing once before sliding to a stop on his face.

The older Saiyan groaned and rolled himself over onto his back, staring up into the sky with a pained grimace and spitting out a wad of grass. Gohan grinned down at his grandfather, dropping to within earshot and challenging, with excitement coloring his voice, "Anyone else?"

The day had been fairly uneventful after the sparring matches, and ended with Bardock and Goku both spending a night at Capsule Corp. in a tank. Gohan had escaped major damage in his duels with his grandfather and Vegeta, but and he hadn't gotten a chance to face his father this time. He thought that this was probably a good thing, as the last time they'd gotten into it, both had gotten carried away and wound up in a tank for multiple days, and had to listen to both Videl and Chi Chi as they chastised them for being so reckless. He couldn't really help it, his old man was tough and didn't know when to quit, and there was something about fighting him that made Gohan absolutely refuse to forfeit their matches. Vegeta was one thing, having been capable of taking the demi down a couple times over the years through his impressive skill, but there was something about fighting his father that lit an old need to win that was lacking in his fights with the prince. But those things aside, Gohan had other matters to think about as he lay in bed next to his wife, who was sleeping peacefully.

 _Tomorrow is Bulma's birthday party. It'll be the first time seeing everyone since the wedding, and of all places, it's going to be on a big ass boat that Bulma bought for just this occasion._ He glanced over towards Videl, and felt his gut sink a little. _Which reminds me, we never did get to go on a honeymoon, did we? We had a few too many obligations here to get away for any extended period of time. A cruise would have been nice. Maybe I could ask Bulma about it?_

Resigning himself to bring it up with her later, he rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come to him.

 **THE NEXT DAY – SATAN CITY DOCKS**

It hadn't taken long for the Z-gang to make their appearances. While Gohan had been one of the first to arrive with Videl, Mr. Satan, and Uub in tow, the others weren't very far behind. Piccolo had actually preceded them, standing atop the tallest tower on the ship when they arrived, as well as Bulma, her parents, and Trunks waiting aboard the ship. Lime, Erasa, and Sharpener had all shown up within seconds of Gohan, emerging from one of Bulma's automated limos. His mother, Grandpa Ox, and the twins had arrived next, emerging from the small family car that Chi Chi had bought in the years leading up to the fight with Cell. Then came the combination of the Chestnut family, Yamcha and puar, along with Chiotzu, and Tien carrying his wife Launch, who was currently sporting her blue-black hair and eye look. Even Bulma's older sister, Tights – who Gohan had never met before – showed up and greeted them all brightly as if they were old buddies. Gohan had to laugh amusedly at the stark difference between Bulma and her sister. Between the blonde hair and extremely casual look – consisting of denim overalls and a messy short haircut – Tights looked nothing like what Gohan would have expected. If anything, she looked like a near carbon-copy of their mother, and like Panchy, she looked as young and spry as she must have in her early twenties. Bardock and Gine brought up the rear, and Gohan noticed that the only ones missing were Vegeta and his father.

They mingled on the deck of the enormous ship, and Gohan reflected that aside from the ship's crew, and the various food preppers, the ship was almost empty. He snorted and shook his head in amusement, marveling at the fact that Bulma could just splurge on something as extravagant as a cruise ship for her birthday. Her wealth truly was beyond anything Gohan could have imagined. And yet, it seemed that even on her birthday, wealth and grandiose parties weren't enough. Bulma irritably sat back in a chair and planted her chin on her fist, watching Trunks, Ria, and Goten running around a highly excited Uub, who was squealing in delight and tottering around in a bid to catch one of them. She growled irritably and glanced over to her godson, and Gohan gave her an anxious look. He didn't need to ask what was bothering her, but she sparked up anyways, "What the hell could be taking those two?"

Gohan shrugged nonchalantly, but was searching outward with his ki at the same time. "I dunno, Bulma. I mean, Dad and Bardock both spent a while in the tanks last night, but Vegeta should have been fine. Didn't you see him this morning?"

Bulma picked her head up and deadpanned at him, "You'd think, wouldn't you? No, he was off somewhere else, doing who knows what at the crack of dawn before I got up. Last I saw of him was probably around ten, last night."

Gohan felt his breath hitch when he found Vegeta, and started to panic slightly when he couldn't find his father at all. He laughed anxiously and gave Bulma a hasty "excuse me a moment?" before quickly making his way over to his mother, who was in the middle of an animated conversation with Tights. She waved at him as he approached, but her smile fell as he neared, looking at him worriedly. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Gohan shook his head and looked over his shoulder towards Bulma, who was pointedly glaring at his back with a glint in her eye, and Gohan knew she'd guessed that he knew where her husband and friend were. Chi Chi's eyes widened a little at the look on her face, and Gohan anxiously whispered, "Dad and Vegeta aren't here. I don't suppose you saw dad this morning before you left? I can't sense him anywhere."

Chi Chi jolted a little and blinked at him in shock, before a stern look came over her features again. She planted her hands on her hips and closed her eyes exasperatedly. "That man… Disappearing again... No, I haven't. I thought you'd know where he was since you guys were all out beating the tar out of each other yesterday. I just assumed he had wound up in one of the healing tanks that Bulma built."

Gohan rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, looking back towards Bulma, and saying defeatedly, "Well, I guess there's nothing more for it right now, huh? Dad's MIA, Vegeta seems like he's in the middle of a training session, and I don't think Bulma is willing to wait around any longer."

With that, he went to go give her the bad news, and got the expected response. Bulma yelled angrily, catching the attention of the majority of the people on the deck of the ship, "WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT COMING?"

Gohan winced and wiggled a pinky in his ear, attempting to halt the ringing in it before calmly saying, "I don't know if they are or not, Bulma. I can't tell where dad is, and Vegeta's still back at Capsule Corp. I couldn't say what's going on."

Of course, he knew exactly what was going on with Vegeta. The guy was busy trying to build himself up again in the gravity chamber, still attempting to definitively surpass both Goku and Gohan. But he wasn't going to say it to Bulma's face. She was furious enough as it was. She stood and looked up towards the bridge, and the officer on deck, who calmly watched the proceedings. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "Yo! Let's get this crate moving!"

The officer nodded, and Bulma added under her breath, "I'm not waiting for those jackasses any more. They can do whatever it is they want, I'm going to go and have a good time."

Gohan sighed and crossed his arms, looking skyward in search of his father's ki as the ship pulled out of port and made way into the Satan City harbor. The first thing that happened was that Bulma immediately found herself a large glass of punch, which Gohan was easily able to confirm was spiked with a potent blend of alcohol. Resigning that there wasn't really much else for it, Gohan went and picked up some of the toys the children had left about. Sure, the demon trio was older now, but it seemed that some things – such as picking up after themselves – they would never grow out of. He picked up an armful of random things, then picked up one of Trunks' action figures that caught his attention, and he paused a moment to inspect it on a whim.

The character was wearing a belted bright green tunic and shrouded in a scarlet cape over a black body suite with white gloves and boots. And to top it all off, he was wearing a truly horrendous orange helmet with a visor that covered his eyes, complete with antennae. He quirked an eyebrow at the little action figure and accidentally pressed a button on the back. It let forth a small yell in an overly-exaggerated heroic voice, " _I am the Great Saiyaman! Defender of truth! Protector of the innocent! Upholder of justice! Doer of good!"_

Gohan stared at the thing in disgust, and shook his head, thinking, _Man, the things people think of these days. What is this guy supposed to be, a bad anime joke?_

He hesitated, feeling a peculiar sensation and urge to laugh at the thought. After staring into space for a moment, he shook his head, resigning himself to think about it later. He made sure he had all the random toys and chased after the demon trio before they could disappear on him.

* * *

Not much time had passed, and they were already out on the west sea, the coast long behind them. Trunks and Goten had disappeared into the bowels of the ship, leaving Ria outside with Marron and Uub. Trunks led the way through the halls of the ship, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his overalls. At his side, Goten stretched and said curiously, "Where are we going, Trunks? Shouldn't we be up with the others?"

Trunks just gave him a wide grin and said, "No, doofus! Mom hid the prizes for the bingo tournament down here somewhere. Don't you want to go see what they are?"

Goten perked up and nodded excitedly, and the two of them picked up the pace. At one point they sprinted through the ship's galley, knocking over a cook who had his arms full of a giant bowl of noodles. They eventually found what they were looking for. A large and heavy looking door was hanging part-way open, and when Trunks peeked inside, he saw a little more than he'd bargained for. Goten was hanging back a bit, keeping a lookout around the corner just in case someone decided to come check on the prizes. But inside, along with a castle, a streamlined looking capsule jet, and a new car, was a peculiar looking trio dancing around excitedly. Trunks watched them for a moment, completely perplexed.

One was a dog in a purple body suit, but like Oolong and King Furry, he had human features such as hands and an upright posture. Another appeared to be a girl of about Trunks' age dressed in a long coat and boots, with long black hair that bobbed around as she hopped up and down excitedly. And last – and most peculiar – was a little blue demon looking thing wearing children's clothing and a multi-colored hat over his pointed ears that was squealing in delight. It was so bizarre, until he saw the dragon balls on a pedestal. He crossed his arms and gave them all a reproachful look, asking loudly over their excited whooping, "What are you guys doing?"

The trio froze nervously, and the little girl hastily called, "W-We're friends with the lady who owns the ship! Just checking out the prizes!"

Trunks blinked in confusion and looked them over again, saying, "I don't recognize you… My mom's never mentioned guys like you before."

Suddenly, the little blue demon thing yelled loudly, puffing his little chest out angrily, "You be quiet! Don't you know you're speaking to Emper-" But the girl cut him off, clamping a hand over his mouth and hissing through her teeth so that Trunks couldn't hear what she was saying. But he wasn't trying to hear her, he gaped at the little blue thing. "Whoa, did that monkey just talk?"

The dog and girl stifled laughter behind their hands, and the monkey started sputtering angrily. Trunks smiled brightly and leaned back around the corner to look towards Goten, calling excitedly, "Hey Goten! Come take a look at this weird talking blue monkey! Do you think that he's one of the bingo prizes?"

Goten peeked around the corner, and the trio froze. They just stood there, gaping at the young demi-Saiyan for a few seconds before falling into a frenzied panic. They sprinted through the door, being careful to avoid touching the two boys. They'd made it only a few paces down the hall before the girl stopped suddenly and looked nervously over her shoulder. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an enormous diamond, holding it out towards Trunks and inching towards him cautiously.

"Here. I didn't mean to take this…" she squeaked out, and dropped the rock in to Trunks' palm before sprinting off after her two friends. Trunks couldn't help but be mesmerized by her, and just stared after her until Goten nudged him in the ribs and asked, "What was _that_? Trunks, do you know that girl?"

Trunks jumped and stiffened nervously, before regaining his wits and sneering down at Goten in what was supposed to be a confident look, "Well, yeah. She's actually my main squeeze!"

Goten's eyes went wide as saucers and he stared hard at him, "You mean she's your girlfriend? But… I thought you liked Ria?"

Trunks felt a sweat break out on his back and scratched at his cheek. "Well… I mean… as a friend, yeah?"

Goten seemed a little put out for a moment, but then shrugged and grinned happily. They turned towards the room, and quickly made their way inside to go inspect the prizes for themselves.

Outside, Gohan was watching the proceedings with a small smile on his face. He was chatting idly with Piccolo, who was inspecting a picture that Gohan and Videl had brought him from their wedding with a disgruntled look on his face. It was pretty funny to Gohan, considering that the tall Namekian had only let them take one picture of him wearing "that ridiculous monkey suit", and he'd somehow managed to close his eyes for it. But their conversation was interrupted when Gohan felt his father's ki, though faint. Both he and Piccolo looked skyward, their expressions now serious.

"You felt that, right Piccolo?" asked Gohan nervously, wondering what his father could be doing.

Piccolo nodded and grunted, "Yeah, it feels like he's up on King Kai's world. That would explain why he's n-" He was interrupted as Goku's ki erupted violently, and the both of them froze. There was no mistaking that power; he'd unleashed Super Saiyan three, though neither of them could tell what for. There was no other power that warranted such extreme measures. Just as quickly as the power had flared though, it was suddenly extinguished, and everything fell back into a calm quiet.

Piccolo tensed and stared hard at the sky, saying, "This doesn't feel right. What happened up there?"

Gohan felt a pit in his gut, and looked worriedly at the others to see if they'd felt anything. For the most part, the other fighters hadn't caught the explosion of power, though he was surprised to see his grandmother glancing skyward nervously, and Uub staring up with finger stuck in his mouth. Then, a minute later, he felt Vegeta's ki suddenly falter back at Capsule Corp, like his training had suddenly been interrupted. He stared in that direction and waited, hoping that nothing else would happen. But Vegeta's ki fluctuated wildly in a way that Gohan hadn't felt before, like the Prince had suddenly broken his usually stoic demeanor and fallen into a panic. Gohan's gut felt even emptier as Vegeta started making his way towards them at a rapid pace, and glanced over at Piccolo, who seemed equally as anxious by the actions of the two older Saiyans. "Why do I get the feeling that something bad just happened?"


	7. Beerus

**A/N: Alright, here we go again. Now, to be fair to everyone reading this, this chapter isn't going to differ a whole lot from the way things happened in the anime/movie, with one exception. I felt like Beerus' tantrum over a pudding cup, while funny, was ridiculous and shallow for a character who was supposed to be a god in charge of destroying planets. With that said, I did enjoy his overall personality, and Whis is a good counter-balance for him. So, I just tweaked things around a bit. Also, you'll notice that there is a distinct absence of Dende here as of last chapter. While I understand their desire to include him in the party, it seemed odd that the shows writers would just pull the guardian from his lookout for something like a birthday party when none of his predecessors ever left for anything less than a direct intervention in events on the surface of Earth. Anyways, that's all I got for you right now, on to the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Beerus**

Gohan turned to watch as Vegeta found his way to the ship, parting the water in his wake as he made a bee-line for them. Knowing that something was definitely wrong if he was moving so urgently, he spared a worried glance towards the others. Piccolo was watching Vegeta's progress as well, and the other fighters seemed to notice something was amiss as well now, turning their heads in Vegeta's direction and pausing the festivities. Gohan nodded reassuringly towards the few who looked to him for answers, and took to the air in the Prince's direction. They met above the ship, with quite a few onlookers watching them curiously, or – in the case of the ship crew, who had no clue what they were actually witnessing – confusion.

"What's wrong, Vegeta?" asked Gohan nervously as the prince slowed to a stop, his eyes wide and his breath short. He'd obviously been busting his ass in the gravity room, he had signs of small energy burns where the drones he'd failed to react to had zapped him.

"We're in for an unwelcomed guest, brat. I just got contacted by King Kai in the middle of training," said Vegeta gravely, giving him a serious look. Gohan took a deep breath and clenched his teeth, but didn't say anything, knowing that Vegeta would continue. The prince took a gulp of air and growled, "You remember the old geezer mentioning Beerus? Well, we've met before, he and I. I was a small child at the time, but he humiliated my father and damn near stopped my heart by just looking at me. He's on his way here now."

Gohan felt a jolt in his chest and looked down towards the ship towards the group that was currently watching them. No doubt Piccolo had just heard every word, because he was gaping up at them like a fish out of water. Gohan returned his gaze to the prince's and asked quietly, "Are you sure? Why would he be coming here?"

Vegeta crossed his arms and averted his eyes, "I don't know why he's coming for sure, but King Kai said he was. Beerus was just there on his world, and Kakarot asked him for a fight… the moron."

Gohan nodded in understanding, having felt his father's ki spike, but then another thought occurred and he asked urgently, "Wait, but dad went Super Saiyan three up there. If that wasn't enough... I felt it die off too, is dad…?"

Vegeta shook his head and angrily spat, "No. He's alive, or so said King Kai. But Beerus took him down in two hits. Just two…"

Gohan felt a cold sensation flow from somewhere in his chest, outwards into his fingertips until they felt numb. Vegeta fixed him with a stern look and continued, "We don't have time to think about that. I can only imagine that Beerus is looking for your father, you, and me, because we've gotten too powerful. You heard the old Kai, we've apparently gone and strayed into the domain of gods of destruction, something that no mere mortal should possess. Though that wouldn't explain why he let Kakarot live. The Kai mentioned that they talked for a short while, though he couldn't make sense of what they were saying. Something about a Saiyan God?"

Gohan rubbed his neck irritably and muttered, "Damn, is it too much to ask that we _don't_ have someone coming after us all the time? What could he even mean by a Saiyan god?" He shook his head and returned his eyes to Vegeta, asking louder, "Fine. You know more about all this, what do we do?"

Vegeta gulped and looked down to where they could see Bulma watching them, "I… Don't actually know. Beerus is literally a god of destruction, the Kais couldn't stand up to him if they wanted to, and I don't think we can either. We may have to just…" he puffed up as he searched for the word, or struggled to get it out, Gohan couldn't tell. Finally, Vegeta let out a ragged breath and said dejectedly, "Placate him."

Gohan gaped at him in open disbelief, thinking, _If Vegeta is this afraid of Beerus, then maybe we do need to play to his whims… But what if we can take him? I mean, between me and Vegeta alone, there isn't a combined force in this universe that could take us, not even all the Saiyans alive today._

Vegeta seemed to know what he was thinking and dropped in altitude towards the deck of the ship, saying quietly, "Don't test him, brat. Last time, you took the lead, this time you follow my directions, got it?"

Gohan felt a flare of irritation, but followed down him wordlessly. As they neared the deck of the ship, Bulma came up to greet them, her cheeks tinged pink with alcohol and a sly smirk on her face. She didn't seem to notice the tension in the air, both from the Saiyans and the fighters behind her. "Well, well, well. Just couldn't stay away from your _beautiful_ wife's party, huh?"

Piccolo spoke over Bulma's question, just loud enough for Vegeta to hear, "Everything good, Vegeta?"

Bulma glanced over her shoulder and pondered the Namekian's question, and Gohan did as well. He knew that Piccolo had overheard everything they'd said. He reasoned that the Namekian must be asking if it was worth getting everyone else worried as well. Vegeta responded before anything else could be said, his voice forced and completely neutral, "Yes. Just go back to the festivities. Enjoy yourselves. I'd like to get some grub in me as well."

Bulma gave him a bright grin and went to lean into his shoulder affectionately, which made the Prince stiffen and grimace nervously. "Awww! Well, you just come with me and we'll get you something then."

The others took that as their cue that everything was fine, and the party resumed again in earnest. Punch started flowing like water throughout the adults there. Gohan, realizing that he wished he'd had some of that grog right now, settled for grabbing a couple cups of the bright orange liquid, and heading back over to his wife. Videl gave him a curious look as he neared, and asked quietly so that nobody nearby could hear her, "Okay, I'm not nearly dense enough to think that was it… You're tense as a guitar string, what's going on?"

Gohan silently cursed himself for letting her notice. He sighed and offered her one of the cups, and said under his breath, "We're going to have a guest. I don't know if it's going to be a good or bad one yet though. Vegeta just found out."

She tensed and looked at him anxiously, then asked, "But… why not tell everyone? Who is it?"

Gohan just shook his head and again offered the drink towards her, "If we can avoid getting everyone all tensed up, then that's what we're going to do. Just play along for now, we'll handle things as they happen. Here…"

She didn't like that answer, but didn't respond with the retort he knew she wanted to spit out. Instead, she eyed the cup of punch, and shook her head. "No thanks, I think I'd better not right now…"

Gohan was a bit surprised she'd refused the drink, but gave her a sad sort of smile and shrugged, saying, "Don't worry yourself yet, okay? Let me and Vegeta do that this time, you just join the others and enjoy the party."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Bulma had shouted up over the crowd, catching their attention. "Alright, guys! Well, now that things are getting underway, I say let's get the party moving along with that Bingo tournament! Prizes today include a few items of the upcoming Capsule Corporation first class catalog, including our newest performance car and a jet! The first-place winner gets a special prize which I will reveal after the conclusion of the game! Go ahead and collect your cards!"

Gohan nodded reassuringly down at Videl when their eyes met again, and Videl seemed to give up trying to coerce anything else out of him. She sighed and walked away to go stand with Lime and Erasa, both of whom were giggling excitedly about the bingo tournament as they tried to explain it to Bardock and Gine. He watched after her for a moment with a small smile on his face. He couldn't help but appreciate the way that red thigh-length dress hugged her figure. He tore his eyes away from the image and looked down at the cups in his hands, internally berating himself. He hated making her worry. Resigning that there was nothing else he could really do right now, he drank from one of the cups and set the other on a nearby table. With nothing else to do, he unbuttoned the shirt he was wearing and pulled it off, revealing the white undershirt beneath that clung to his arms and chest. He sighed and dropped the shirt next to the drink, seating himself heavily on a chair and waiting patiently.

* * *

Vegeta took the start of the Bingo tournament to make his escape, and quickly made his way around the side of the ship's deck. He ran into a duo of odd looking children – or animals, he wasn't sure since one of them was blue and the other looked like a dog – and a young girl with flowing black hair, each of whom gave him a very wide birth as they came screaming out of the interior of the ship. But he paid them no mind, the tension in his gut keeping him from even giving them one of his vicious stares. He made it about half-way down the ship when a powerful voice, deep and stern, sounded from somewhere right behind him. "Well, if it isn't prince Vegeta…"

Vegeta felt himself lock up as ancient memories rattled around in his head. He spun about, and there he was: A lanky looking humanoid sphinx cat with enormous ears and purple skin, spangled with golden jewelry and not wearing much more than a baggy pair of trousers and a large, free-hanging collar that draped over his shoulders and over his lean chest. Those terrifying golden eyes bored into him, and the sharp feline fangs glinted at him in the sunlight. The sight of Beerus was enough to send ice through Vegeta's veins as the memories from his childhood were brought forth in vivid detail.

Next to him, though, was a person of sharp contrast to Beerus whom Vegeta had never seen before. Where Beerus' stature was short and toned, this person was extremely tall and impossibly thin. His skin tone was a light blue, and his face held a very gentle and nearly feminine look, though Vegeta was certain it was a man. He was fully robed in an ornate red and black outfit with a large blue halo that floated around his neck and head, nothing discernably holding it up. He held in his hand a very tall staff topped with a crystal orb.

Vegeta realized that he couldn't immediately identify a ki from either of them, and felt his stomach sink even lower. He hadn't heard them, seen them, or even felt them arrive. But they were suddenly right there, like they'd been on the ship this whole time and simply walked up behind him. He struggled to find his voice as he took in the odd duo, "W-Wha… You… How did…"

The tall blue creature seemed amused at his stammering and said in a bright and confident voice, "Oh my. It appears that you've got the prince all flustered, Lord Beerus."

Beerus grinned viciously and narrowed his eyes at Vegeta, growling, "Well, maybe so, but it hasn't been nearly that long since we last met. Surely you remember how to greet a deity with some sense of respect, right boy?" Vegeta couldn't even find the words to respond. He was too frozen in fear. Beerus' grin fell off his face, and he placed his hands behind his back with a frustrated shuffle of his feet. "Well, apparently not. Tell me, Vegeta, must I remind you how to pay the respect I'm due?"

Vegeta seemed to regain some of his senses finally, and bent at the waist in a jerking motion, bowing and saying loudly, "Of course not, Lord Beerus! It's just, I did not expect to see you again!" He glanced up nervously, his hands still stiff at his sides, and asked, "It's just… What is the purpose of your visit?"

Beerus considered him for a moment with a neutral look on his face before crossing his arms and sighing, "You're awfully pretentious to ask a god what they're doing… But no matter, I have a question I need answering, and that other Saiyan that was on the Kai's planet couldn't provide me with one. Perhaps you could answer it for me instead? Now, what was it?..."

Vegeta righted himself and stared at the god, who suddenly seemed lost in thought and confused. At his side, the taller blue creature smiled brightly and said, "Well, while he's getting his thoughts in a row, I do believe I should introduce myself to you. We've never met, though I know all about you, Prince Vegeta. My name is Whis."

"Now isn't the time, Whis!" yelled Beerus angrily just as he was finishing, cutting off the tall blue man, who gave him a reproachful look behind his back. Seeming to remember exactly what it was he was after, Beerus crossed his arms and fixed Vegeta with his stare once more. "That's right. It was a premonition that I had of a rival who could keep me entertained and test my abilities, one who was supposed to appear today, as a matter of fact. A Super Saiyan God."

Vegeta gaped at him in shock, and couldn't quite find the words. Never, in all of his years, had he heard of a Super Saiyan God. Hell, he and Kakarot were the strongest two full blooded Saiyans alive. The closest thing that came to mind would have been Broly, but Gohan had destroyed him a few years prior. Beerus sighed when the Prince didn't respond and looked exasperatedly towards the sky, "It seems that even the prince can only disappoint me. I told you, Whis, we should have gone directly to that new planet Vegeta and asked the king himself!"

Whis straightened out his back and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Lord Beerus, it was you who said that it couldn't be anyone but the one who had defeated Frieza. And then, failing that, one of the three who defeated Majin Buu."

Beerus grumbled under his breath, "Did I say that? You'd think I would remember saying that."

Vegeta suddenly found his voice and managed to struggle out, "But… There is no Super Saiyan God. We've never had a deity that we prayed to in all our years! The closest thing we've ever had was the legend of the Super Saiyan!"

At that moment, Bulma came around the corner and spotted Vegeta and the new guests, and called brightly, "Hey, there you are Vegeta! I wondered where you'd gotten off to." Vegeta cursed in his mind and willed the woman to just walk away, but didn't say anything out loud. As she neared, she eyed the two new people with a skeptical eye and blinked a few times, to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She looked towards her husband and pointed at them with her thumb, asking, "Who're they? Old friends of yours? Well, introduce me!"

Whis, who had waited patiently while Bulma approached, spoke up before Vegeta could say anything. "Why, of course madam! My name is Whis, and this gentleman is Lord Beerus. We noticed Vegeta was here as we were passing by and decided to stop in to say hello."

Bulma perked up with a smile on her face and said, "Wow, didn't know Vegeta had it in him to make friends with manners. I'm Vegeta's wife, but you can call me Bulma!" to which both Beerus and Whis chorused politely, "Pleasure to meet you, Bulma." It stunned Vegeta so badly that he honestly couldn't move. It felt like the hamster-wheel in his head had simply stopped turning.

Beerus sniffed the air and asked in a stunningly polite tone, "Do I detect some sort of shin-dig happening? Something on the air smells delicious."

Vegeta suddenly found his voice, and grasped his wife's shoulders from behind to gently steer her around the two newcomers. "Yes, It's my wife's birthday party, which we need to be returning to now!" he said urgently, his eyes wide. Bulma recoiled in shock at her husband's actions and waved over her shoulder as he pushed her back towards the party with her heels skidding on the polished deck, calling, "You're welcome to it! Any friend of Vegeta's is a friend of mine. There's lots of food to go around."

Beerus cleared his throat and said loudly, "Now, now Vegeta. Don't be so hasty. You and I aren't done yet." Vegeta froze and stiffened, and Bulma stumbled a few steps forward with the sudden lack of her husband's pushing. Beerus came abreast of the prince, looking at him with a neutral expression that Vegeta couldn't read. He smiled brightly at Bulma after a second and continued, "But why not conduct our business over a meal? I am feeling a bit hungry, and I would like to speak to the other Saiyans who are here as well."

With that, the gods strode past the prince and his wife, and Vegeta just stared after them fearfully. Bulma gave him a playful nudge and said, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to bring friends? I'd have waited at the docks if I knew that!"

Vegeta just said quietly, "Surprise visit…"

* * *

Within minutes, the two newcomers had been introduced during a pause between bingo call-outs. The only ones who seemed remotely nervous about them were the adult Saiyans, Gohan, and Piccolo. The others couldn't sense his energy and had no clue who he was, and as such had no reason to worry. Gohan and Piccolo watched intently from their shared table as Beerus first made his way over towards the two elder Saiyans, though they were just out of earshot since the party picked right back up without skipping a beat. Gohan looked towards his old mentor and asked, "You can hear them, right?"

Piccolo grunted and nodded, "Yeah. He's asking them about… A… Huh, Super Saiyan God? Name mean anything to you kid?"

Gohan furrowed his brow in thought, but shook his head. He continued to watch as his grandparents nervously spoke with the god of destruction. Gohan carefully inspected Beerus and Whis, and found himself wondering how strong the two of them actually were. If it weren't for the older Saiyans' reactions to him, he'd have dismissed the god as nothing more than an over-grown naked cat. Somehow, none of the other Z-fighters had even seemed to notice that there was something amiss, but Gohan was glad for that.

After a moment's pause in the conversation, Beerus' eyes locked with Gohan's, and made his way over to the demi calmly. Gohan took a deep breath and rose to greet him. They came face to face mere feet apart, and Beerus said, "So, you're the third of the trio responsible for Majin Buu's defeat?"

Gohan nodded and said in low tones, "Yeah, that's me. And before you ask, I don't know anything about the Super Saiyan God you're after. I'm only half Saiyan, and wasn't brought up the same Vegeta or my grandparents, so I've never heard any of their stories or legends."

Beerus seemed to hesitate a moment at that, and then caught the eye of Piccolo, who was staring back at him with sweat on his brow. The god smirked in realization and put his hands on his hips, "Ah, a Namekian. Sharp hearing as ever. I see there's more than just this world's guardian from the old race after all." He turned his eyes back to Gohan and said, "You're pretty brave to speak to a destroyer god that way, boy."

Gohan couldn't help himself. He glanced over at Videl, who was watching them over Chi Chi's shoulder, a look of worry in her eyes. He growled, "Brave or not isn't a part of the question, Lord Beerus. I know who you are, but that doesn't mean I need to fear you out of principle. I've got a family to protect, and I won't let anyone get in the way of that."

Beerus considered him for a moment before letting out a purr of a growl, a sneer on his face. "If you know who I am, then you _should_ fear me, for the sake of your family. Take it from your father, who said something equally as stupid and disrespectful."

Gohan felt the tension in his gut building at the same time as his temper, which Beerus seemed to notice. He wanted dearly to spit out his venomous retort regarding his father, but Vegeta suddenly interrupted the silence that had fallen between them by barking loudly, "Brat! Here, now!"

Gohan glared over Beerus' shoulder at him, while the god just stared at him waiting for a reaction. Gohan grunted and walked around the god without another word, ignoring the stare of those golden eyes boring into his back. Vegeta suddenly rounded on him, saying angrily under his breath, "Are you out of your mind?! You really have no clue how dangerous he is!"

Gohan looked at Beerus over his shoulder, who was tasting a takoyaki being offered to him by Krillin with an obviously thrilled look on his face. He groaned in disbelief at the antics of the god and said irritably, "He's obviously more interested in the food than destroying anything, Vegeta. Are we sure he's more powerful than us? Seems to me that he's not much more than an over-grown house cat."

Vegeta responded by whacking him around the back of his head with a fist and seething, "Yes, you dolt! Gods, and you're supposed to be more intelligent than your father? Let's just keep him calm and hope he decides to leave and go back home before someone does something to get us all killed."

Gohan rubbed at the sore on the back of his head and glared at Vegeta, but didn't say anything in response. But after a few minutes of observation, he felt that his assessment was correct. Soon enough, both Beerus and Whis were being showered with food left and right, and the two of them appeared less harbingers-of-doom and more normal party-goers. Vegeta and Gohan could only watch in disbelief as they ate, and ate… and ate some more. Everything was disappearing into them, all the while, bingo calls were being made at short intervals. As of yet nobody had won.

Evidently, Trunks now had a girlfriend apparently named Mai, which caught both Vegeta's and Gohan's attention for a moment. Bulma was loudly talking to the little black-haired girl in the trench coat whom Vegeta had passed earlier, which they both figured to be the girl in question. She was blushing bashfully and shoveling away food alongside her two friends like the three of them hadn't eaten in weeks. But while Bulma was tipsily gushing about how cute the little girl was, someone finally called "Bingo! I won!"

All eyes turned towards Yamcha, who was a good ten feet in the air. He'd just leapt for joy with his bingo card held high in the air, a diagonal five holes clearly visible. Bulma stopped her gushing and beamed up excitedly at him. With that exclamation, she quickly jogged - none too gracefully - over to the microphone where one of the ship staff was calling the bingo numbers and said excitedly, "All right! Well, since we've got our first prize winner, it's time to unveil the prize!"

She waved off towards the side of the stage, and a tuxedo'd man came forth pushing a covered cart. When it was close enough, she pulled the cover off of the cart, and a collective gasp rang through the crowd. There were the dragon balls, glinting orange in the sunlight. Even Beerus seemed slightly surprised by the revelation, and sat up in the chair he'd taken up towards the edge of the boat. But then Yamcha said loudly, "Wait a minute Bulma… I only count six!"

A ripple of murmurs echoed through the crowd, and Gohan noticed the three small unknown children, including Trunks' "girlfriend", suddenly making a break for it. He turned to look at them just as the little blue creature dropped the four-star ball from somewhere within his shirt, and all eyes turned towards him as he cursed loudly and stooped to pick it up. Trunks had run to catch up to them, and suddenly, things had turned into a hostage situation. Mai had grabbed trunks around the neck and pulled a small handgun from her hip, pointing it towards his head and shouting, "Alright, nobody move, or the kid gets it!"

The collected group stared down at the children, some with amusement, some with confusion. But both Videl and Gohan recognized that the gun was real, and went to intervene as the little blue thing yelled up at them all, his little hands clenched around the four-star ball, "That's right! This boat now belongs to the great Emperor Pilaf! Just keep calm and nobody will get hurt!"

Gohan was the first to reach them, stopping a mere ten feet in front of them before any of them could react. The little dog boy drew a sharp looking sword from behind his back and leveled it at Gohan. Gohan just glared them down and said sharply, "You've got no clue what you're messing with, kids. Those are real, just put them down before someone gets hurt."

He didn't want to strike the children, worried that he might accidentally kill them. Though, he had no clue where they'd even come from, or who they were. All the same, it wasn't in him to hurt a child. Mai, however, seemed to have no reservations, and leveled the pistol at Gohan with an angry growl. "I mean it dude, don't come any closer! We want the money! Give it to us and the boy and the ball go back to you safe!"

Behind him, Bulma giggled excitedly and said, "Look at them! This is pretty cool for a bunch of kids! I didn't think Gohan would be in on it too! Alright sweety, how much money are we talking here?"

Gohan glared over his shoulder at her incredulously, noting that she wasn't the only one who didn't realize the girl was holding a real gun in her hands. But the little blue imp, who Gohan assumed was the "emperor" that was mentioned, piped up loudly, "We want a hundred million zeni!... and a box lunch."

Gohan rolled his eyes and glared back down at them, his jaw clenched in irritation. He spat out angrily, "Really? You kids are testing my patience now, just hand over the ball and let go of Trunks." He sufficiently had them scared, as all three of them recoiled from the look he gave them. Trunks just peeked at Mai out of the corner of his eye and muttered, "Mai, I want to break up."

Gohan took a step forward, his temper rising with the witless banter happening all around him while the god of destruction was literally sitting twenty feet away. Mai jerked back and squeezed the trigger on her pistol twice. Gohan, realizing the bullets were liable to hit someone if he didn't stop them, rushed forward and deflected the two projectiles away from the people behind him with a swat of his hand, stopping mere feet in front of Mai and Trunks. They all froze, with the three new children staring up at him fearfully, their little weapons long forgotten in their numb grasps. Gohan just glared at them and held out his hand, palm up, daring them to contradict his unspoken demand. Pilaf faltered for a moment, then sighed heavily and dropped the orb into Gohan's outstretched palm.

A heavy silence rang through the air before Pilaf said dejectedly, "Mai, Shu, we'd better get moving. I don't think we can do anything against a guy who can deflect bullets…"

Gohan didn't spare them a second glance, simply turning on his heel and marching back over to Bulma and handing her the ball. She paused a moment and said sternly towards the children, "You kids know these aren't play-things! Don't take them without asking, that's not nice." She paused a moment, and surprisingly, the Pilaf gang all looked ashamedly towards the floor. But it didn't last long, Bulma let a bright smile onto her face and said loudly, "All the same, that was a fun little show you guys put on! Color me impressed, you even managed to get Gohan to play along!"

She turned towards Gohan, but found him standing stiff, and staring in another direction. When she turned her head to look, she realized why. Beerus had been struck by one of the wayward projectiles, which had mushroomed out against his forehead, leaving a disgruntled look on the god's face. At his side, Whis peered down at the spot where the bullet had stuck and plucked it off of his skin, saying, "Well, that doesn't look too bad Lord Beerus. I don't suppose that upset you, did it?"

Beerus merely glared up at him and growled, "What do you think? Such impudence from the children on this planet. It may be best to start over from scratch." His eyes met with Vegeta's and Gohan's in turn, and the air around him started to shimmer.

Behind him, Whis just calmly rolled his eyes and said, "It's not like it hurt you at all, lord. Why not just let it go? After all, the half-Saiyan did diffuse the situation."

Beerus stared at them for a moment longer before he seemed to mellow out a bit, and the air around him stopped shimmering. He grumbled, but sat back in his chair and waved them on nonchalantly. Vegeta let out a breath of relief and sagged at the shoulders a bit. With that, the tension broke, and the party continued. Beerus and Whis had continued making their way around the various stands, trying different foods and attracting a fairly large following of people, amazed at the amount of food they were consuming. Gohan followed at a short distance, accompanied by Videl, who had decided to keep close to him since Beerus' near-outburst.

This only happened for a short while before someone did something that would prove disasterous. Gohan felt his breath hitch in his throat as he saw little Uub tottering up to the god while he was partaking in a large helping of lamb with particular gusto. Too late to properly react, he could only watch as Uub grabbed the god's tail and bit down furiously on the appendage with his tiny baby teeth. Gohan winced as Beerus roared in pain and jerked his head around to stare down at the diminutive child, and everything went silent. His tail flung about once, and Uub was sent flying, screaming at the top of his lungs right into the arms of a thoroughly startled Tien. All eyes were on Beerus now as the child's cries rang in the air, seething and hissing through his teeth as he inspected the tip of his tail, which was bent at an odd angle. Vegeta was the first one to react, and rushed forward, waving his arms frantically before the god and yelling loudly, "Wait! Lord Beerus, he's just a toddler! He didn't know what he was doing!"

Beerus ignored his pleas and said angrily towards the tiny child crying in Tien's arms, "Insolent little runt! You dare bite the tail of a destroyer?!"

Hercule, who was nearby, suddenly rushed forward with a loud yell to stand directly in front of Beerus with his arms held out defensively. Gohan groaned internally when he started talking, "Alright big guy, I don't know who you are, but nobody goes around threatening children on my watch! You could've hurt the little guy!"

Beerus sniffed once, then idly backhanded Hercule across the face, sending him careening through one of the stands to impact the rails of the ship. Immediately, Gohan and Videl were at his side, though Gohan realized that he hadn't been injured too badly and would likely recover within minutes.

The other Z fighters immediately leapt into action, bar Yamcha, Vegeta and 18. They powered up to maximum and went into a furious flurry of attacks directed at the god. Through all of their punches and kicks, the god merely bent and dodged out of the way, preventing them from getting even remotely close to landing a hit.

Gohan looked up just in time to see Piccolo, Tien, and Krillin all rush Beerus while Vegeta was rooted to the spot in fear. It was obvious that this was exactly what the prince was hoping would not happen. But now there was nothing more for it. Gohan gave Videl a significant look and said, "Stay with him." She yelled her protests at him, but he was already gone.

Gohan caught up just as each of the Z-fighter's attacks were lazily stopped by the destroyer. The first to fall was Krillin, who took a kick to the side of the head and crashed down to the deck of the ship in a heap. Then was Tien, who was elbowed in the face, and fell like his shorter friend. Even Piccolo, who was easily as powerful as a Super Saiyan, was lazily batted aside after an attempted kick to Beerus' head. The way the god moved was so unnatural and fast, it dawned on Gohan that he had to have been practicing his fighting techniques for many years longer than even Shin, who's technique could have been described as perfect. But he didn't care, he had to try and intervene before any of the others got really hurt. He immediately powered up to maximum, his eyes turning blue as the energy flowed through him and filled him to the brim. Beerus' eyes turned to face him and narrowed. Wasting no more time, he roared, "That's enough Beerus! Stop this!"

He shot forward, winding his arm up for a punch. But it never actually got thrown. Beerus was upon him before he could swing his arm, or even react, and Gohan felt like his chest was about to burst outward by the force of the elbow the god had just delivered to his stomach. He felt spittle fly from his gaping mouth as the force of the impact forced him back down to the deck of the ship with a loud thud, where he collapsed in a heap after skidding fifty feet. He felt his energy leave him suddenly, and couldn't muster up the willpower to move at all. _Holy shit, I didn't even see him move! One hit, and I feel like someone has cut me in half!_

He gasped for air and opened his eyes to look up into the stunned face of Vegeta, who he'd apparently landed by. He heard the frantic cries of the demon trio, and picked his head up just enough to see the three of them rushing Beerus as well. Goten and Ria were both transformed into Super Saiyans, and Trunks – who still hadn't managed to transform yet – started a surprisingly well coordinated attack. Goten and Ria flanked around the left and right, respectively, while Trunks went right up the middle. Gohan struggled to call them back, but could only gasp painfully. But their attacks were less than a nuisance for the god, who lazily swatted the two Son children away before they could even attempt to hit him, earning a panicked shriek from their mother. Trunks, who couldn't halt himself in his attempt to punch the god, found his hand being pulled and twisted around painfully, so that he was facing away from Beerus. The god glared at his back and said loudly, "Children should learn to respect their elders!" With that, he swatted Trunks across the behind, sending him careening to the deck of the ship with the other two, frantically rubbing his rump while the twins struggled to regain their senses.

Gohan growled in his chest, feeling his rage flare violently. He pushed aside his pain and took hold of his ki once more. The air around him pulsed violently as his aura erupted around him again, and he got to his feet, steadying himself for a moment. He grunted and pushed off of the ship, exploding towards Beerus, who clasped his hands behind his back and glared down at him. He wound up as if to punch, then switched his move part-way through the movement so that his leg was being flung around instead. Gohan was stunned that his kick passed through Beerus' defenses, and struck the god right in the gut, doubling him over with a loud huff. Gohan's surprise wore off to be replaced by the thrill of the fight, and he smirked dangerously. Even Beerus seemed surprised by the hit, his hand outstretched to intercept Gohan's feigned punch that never came.

It came as another surprise, however, when he saw a golden glow erupt from just out of sight, and suddenly, Bardock was there. The older Saiyan drove a hard kick upwards and into Beerus' exposed neck, eliciting a startled choking sound and snapping the god's head backwards. Gohan wasted no time, following his grandfather in with a left hook that struck Beerus across the cheek, whipping the god's head around. But Gohan was totally unprepared for him to spin faster than the punch, and received a sharp hammer-fist to the back of the skull. He gasped in pain, and blackness swallowed him.

Vegeta watched the demi fall, right after his own son and the other two brats. The boy's mate rushed to his side, turning him over with a strained scream and shaking him frantically. Vegeta felt numb. Gohan, who had bested him over and over in the years since the fight with Cell, had been swept aside like a child's play thing. He glared at the spectacle, and suddenly jerked into action. He growled angrily and said, "That's it! The Prince of all Saiyans does not cower in fear!" He roared in anger, and the bright golden aura and lightning that accompanied the ascended super-saiyan form erupted around him as his hair turned golden. He returned his gaze skyward to see Bardock getting slammed in the face by a roundhouse kick that sent him careening into the water over the side of the ship.

"NO MORE, BEERUS!" roared Vegeta angrily, and he shot after the god. He got to within punching distance, and then felt it all just slip away as fear shot through him once more. His attempted punch faltered and lost all of its power, and Beerus grunted irritably at him with a dissatisfied frown. The god grasped him by the wrist and punched the Saiyan in the solar plexus, winding him and reverting him back into his normal form. He raised his hands in the air, hammering Vegeta on top of the head with both hands, and the prince crashed down onto the deck of the ship, leaving a sizeable dent in it. Vegeta could feel blood leaking from his mouth, and realized with a jolt that he'd bit off the tip of his tongue. He spat blood and cursed through clenched teeth, attempting to push himself upright.

Beerus didn't let him. The god landed and roughly stomped down on the back of Vegeta's head, earning a gasp of pain from the prince as his face hit the deck. He glared down at the prince, then over to Gohan and Videl, and even to Gine, who was carrying a sopping wet and unconscious Bardock back up over the side of the ship. He yowled irritably, "None of you? Damn, I was hoping that at least _one_ of you would turn into the Super Saiyan god! What's a deity need to do to get one lousy rival? I guess I'll just have to try my luck on New Vegeta, though I suspect I'll be further disappointed. I barely had to tap into my abilities to take all of you down. Even you, _prince_."

Vegeta let out a strangled groan as Beerus pressed down even harder on his head, making it feel like his skull was about to burst. But suddenly, there was a resounding crack that echoed in the following silence, and Beerus' foot was removed from his head. He struggled to push himself up, and realized with a jolt that Bulma was standing directly in front of Beerus, her cheeks still flushed and her right hand bright red from the force of her slap. "No… Bulma…" breathed Vegeta desperately, realizing what she had just done. But the woman didn't hear him

"You… _You_ …" she struggled through clenched teeth, her glare vicious enough to make even Vegeta sweat. "You dare come here, on my birthday, and start beating up all my friends and family? You threaten children because they annoy you? What the hell sort of god are you?! I want you off my ship!"

Vegeta was furiously trying to make her hear his thoughts, since his voice was no longer functioning. _Leave. Just turn around and get away from him!_ But she didn't, and Beerus didn't have a response for her. At least, not a verbal one. He simply raised his hand, and smacked Bulma across the face, sending her careening backwards to be caught by her son, Goten and Ria, who were back on their feet. Vegeta just stared after her for a moment, then it all went red in his eyes. He vaguely felt himself rising to his feet, and roared furiously, "YOU… YOU HIT MY BULMA!"

Everything around him was suddenly flung away with the force of his aura erupting outwards violently. Never before had he felt the level of energy and fury flow through him, surpassing even Goku at his maximum. But even having surpassed his goal finally, he didn't care. All he knew in that moment was that he had to put that cat down. Without thinking, without saying a word, he flung himself at Beerus. His fist found it's mark on Beerus's nose, just as the god turned to look at him, and sent him reeling backwards a few steps. Vegeta didn't relent his attack, still lost in his fury. Beerus countered him with his own punch, but Vegeta just tanked it with his cheek, pushing back with a furious scowl on his face. He grabbed Beerus by the wrist and jerked him in, elbowing him hard in the ribs and kicking him away.

As Vegeta went chasing after his prey through the air, Trunks was shaking his mother frantically to try and wake her. But she wouldn't move at all. He shook his head furiously, his eyes leaking onto his cheeks as he begged her, "Come on! Get up mom! Get up!"

Goten and Ria were watching Beerus, torn between wanting to fight and fearing for their lives. Trunks looked around for help, but most of the fighters were down and not getting back up. Even Gohan had been bested. He turned his eyes skyward as a thundering clap rang through the air, and saw his father get soundly kicked in the chest, and something had certainly broken there beyond the scattered remnants of his armor that had shattered under the force of the kick. Vegeta crashed into the water, sending up a splash high enough to reach over the railing of the ship. Trunks felt despair at his inability to do anything to help. But more than that, he felt the rage directed towards Beerus, and narrowed his eyes at him. His breath came in short, hissing through his teeth as he struggled to maintain control of his mind.

He'd ultimately fail. Wind thrashed up around him, and the two Son children turned to look at him in shock. He growled through his teeth and roared, "YOU LEAVE US ALONE, YOU JERK!" As he let loose his agonized scream, his hair lifted and stood on end, and he felt a power come over him which he'd only felt in the others. A golden aura erupted around him, and the twins grabbed onto Bulma to keep her from being flung away by the transformation. His transformation complete, he settled himself down into a squat and prepared to attack the god, only to find himself being held back by Goten and Ria, who had rushed forward to grab onto both of his arms.

"No, Trunks! You'll get yourself killed!" yelled Ria loudly, her voice full of desperation. Trunks thrashed violently in an attempt to remove their grasp from his burning skin, but as they were still in their own Super Saiyan forms, he couldn't break their grip.

"LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" he roared, tears still running down his cheeks.

"BACK DOWN BRAT!" came the strangled yell of Vegeta, who had risen back over the side of the ship, no longer in Super Saiyan form and clutching his chest, his breath raspy and short. Beerus stayed where he was, looking over the crowd with disdain. Gohan had just risen, and was shakily making his way to Bulma, who still hadn't stirred, to make sure that she was going to be okay.

The god fixed his eyes on his attendant and yelled, "Whis! It's time, wrap it up!" A chill went through the group of Earthlings, but Whis just babbled to the sushi chef excitedly about the various rolls and nigiri he was tasting. Beerus made an irritable sound and said exasperatedly, "Whi-is!"

The blue being jerked upright and called over his shoulder sheepishly, "In just a moment, Lord Beerus! I'm getting us a to-go order!"

Beerus sighed and looked skyward exasperatedly, but didn't argue. He slowly dropped down to the deck of the ship, his arms crossed and his eyes searching their faces as they all took a fearful step backwards. A few seconds passed, until Videl broke away from the group, her eyes begging just as much as her voice, "Please, Lord Beerus, they can't take any more of this punishment! I beg you, don't do anything else to them?"

Beerus stared at her, his expression impassive. For a few moments, he just seemed to consider her with a critical eye before simply asking, "Why?" She pulled up short at that, as if the answer should have been obvious. She blinked a few times, and Beerus crossed his arms, saying dully, "I'm a destroyer god, girl. It's my job to remove worlds that aren't fit to exist, and I take my job seriously. This world is full of people who are rotten and spoiled, and I can't stand for it. Even your children are disrespectful, and if there's one thing I can not stand, it's not being given the respect I'm due."

She tensed nervously and clutched at the front of her shirt, her voice diminished and quiet, "You… You're going to destroy the Earth?"

Beerus sneered down at her and said viciously, "Every last particle of it."

She dropped to her knees and pleaded to him frantically, "But… But please, we only just got things right! There's so much good here, too! The kids, they're just kids, they have to learn respect like the rest of us, they don't mean to offend you! And the others here have done more for this world than anybody else in history!"

Beerus frowned at her and narrowed his eyes, "See, I've heard this speech many times before, girl. But you forget, being a god with the power to destroy everything as I see fit, I don't care for your petty stories and moralistic dribble. If I don't like what I see, I destroy it."

Whis chose that moment to float over to Beerus, a large box in his hand full of the tasty morsels that had been prepared for them. "You're always so dramatic, Lord."

Beerus gritted his teeth and sent him a sideways glare, "You finally done? I tire of this planet. There's no Super Saiyan god here."

Whis sighed exasperatedly and produced his staff from nowhere, passing the orb over the box and making it disappear into nothing with a flash. He tapped the staff on the ground and looked down with a pout on his face, "It's a shame too. The food here is unbelievably good."

Beerus grunted in response and rose into the air, a flaming purple aura slowly spread around him, casting him in a dark shadow. He held out a hand, and a flaming orange ball of ki like a sun grew from his palm, reaching the size of a large beach ball instantly. He glared down at them all. But just as it looked like he was going to unleash the blast, a familiar voice rang out over the silence, "Wait!"

All eyes turned towards the source, and found Goku floating down towards them, his orange gi in tatters. But despite the haggard appearance of his clothing, he showed no other signs that he'd been in a fight with Beerus at all. Krillin yelled despairingly at him, "Goku! Couldn't you show up on time for once?!"

Goku scratched at the back of his head sheepishly and said, "Sorry guys, I had to take a detour real quick to planet Vegeta."

Beerus, who had turned his head expectantly towards the Saiyan, spoke up, his voice skeptical. "Huh. You again, Saiyan? I thought that you'd be out of the picture for a lot longer. How did you get back here so quickly?"

Goku just laughed in his usual Goku-ish way, and said brightly, "Well, for starters, I had a Senzu bean with me! Those things do wonders for the body."

Bulma rounded on him angrily from her spot beneath her husband's arm, holding him up, "What?! You mean to tell me you took one of those beans from Capsule Corp? I know for a fact that Yajirobi gave me the last few that were ready! We don't have a big enough supply to feed your training habits!"

Goku cowered a little, and waved her down, "Yeah, I know Bulma! I'm sorry, but I figured I might need it after training on King Kai's world! I'm glad I did, or i'd still be laying in that crater!" Seeing that Beerus was still staring him down, he turned back to him and continued nervously, "But to answer your second question, I just used instant transmission!"

Beerus' face blanked out for a moment and turned towards Whis expectantly. The blue man shrugged and simply said, "Yardratians, Lord." Beerus sighed and nodded in understanding, then turned back to Goku. "Fine Saiyan, but why should I delay destroying the Earth? Did you find the Super Saiyan god? Or are you going to try my patience again?"

Goku rubbed at the back of his neck and said grimly, "No, I'm afraid I still have no clue what you're talking about. I even went to ask the Saiyans on Vegeta, and they didn't know anything either. The only one who had even heard of it was King Vegeta, but he said that he'd believed the Super Saiyan god to be just a myth, or a story made up to inspire Saiyans."

Beerus scowled and snarled, "So, you've come back to waste my time again?"

Goku shook his head and said anxiously, "Well, no. I know I can't fight you, and even if Vegeta and I did fusion, we couldn't beat you. But I think I might know someone who can help us find you a Super Saiyan god!"

Beerus perked up a bit and placed his hands behind his back, giving the Saiyan a curious look, "Oh? Do tell."

Goku just gave him an apologetic smile and pressed his palms together as if he were praying, "Just give me like, a minute! You'll see!" He waited for the god's response, and Beerus merely nodded. Goku bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet and turned towards Bulma, who was watching the conversation nervously. "Bulma, I'm gonna need those dragon balls!"

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 **Gonna stop there for now. Like I said, there weren't too many differences between this and canon, besides the obvious changes that resulted from my previous story. Hopefully it wasn't too disappointing. Either way, next chapter is going to be quite a bit different than canon, I promise you that. Also, minor note here about the writing perspective: I'm continuing to keep Gohan as the primary character for inner monologue and thought, since he stepped up so much in the last one. But I don't intend to make it "Gohan saves the day" any more than Mr. Toriyama made canon "Goku saves the day". I want there to be a balance within the main characters, and have everyone play a role if I can. Just food for thought.**


	8. Of Gods and Men

**A/N: Alrighty guys, finals are out of the way, and I finally got some down time to write the rest of this one out. Like I said, this is where my version of events differs from the anime/movies. Had to bring the Saiyans into it all, so without further ado, read on!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Of Gods and Men**

Beerus waited impatiently where he had landed on the ship as Bulma and the others collected the dragon balls and placed them on the ground at Goku's feet. The Saiyan stared at Beerus, watching his every move and the twitching of his tail with obvious apprehension. The other Saiyans had taken quite a beating, including his son. Vegeta was bruised and bleeding out of his nose, Bardock was still in a slightly dazed state and dripping wet, and Gohan couldn't stop the shaking in his limbs after his head injury. All of them were being propped up on someone else's shoulders, and Goku guessed that none of them had much left in them, even after the brief amount of fighting they'd been involved in. He wasn't surprised. Beerus had made mince meat out of him too up on King Kai's planet, driving him into the dirt with a mere chop to the neck, leaving him feeling broken and empty even though he had been powered up to Super Saiyan three for their fight.

The balls collected, he held his hands over the orbs, ignoring the stare of the god as he summoned the dragon. "Eternal dragon! By your name, I summon you forth! Shenron!"

As was expected, the skies above the ship turned an inky black color, lightning arced between the balls, and shot up into the sky in a blinding flash. The bolt hung there and started to widen, taking the slender form of Shenron with every second. With a deafening roar, the dragon solidified in the air and hung over them like an enormous snake, his head hanging down to gaze upon them all with those harsh scarlet eyes.

" **I have been summoned! State your wish so that I may grant it."** said the dragon in his thunderous voice, rumbling them all to their bones. Bardock, Gine, and Tights had never seen the dragon, and gaped up at him in awe, in spite of the tense situation. Even the members of the group who had seen Shenron before couldn't help but stare in awe at the massive apparition.

Goku scratched anxiously at the back of his neck and asked loudly, "Shenron, I know this might sound a little weird, but do you know anything about a Super Saiyan God? And if you do, could you bring him here?"

The dragon's massive head turned to inspect Goku, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously, **"What would you want a Super Saiyan God for? Haven't you already fought against enough impossible odds? You seem to be growing greedy with your age, Saiyan."**

Goku could have laughed at the sass, but a quick glance over towards Beerus' unamused expression killed any of that. He shook his head frantically said, "No, not for me to fight! It's actually for Lord Beerus over there!"

All at once, the dragon's demeanor changed completely. His head jerked up in surprise and he looked around in a panic, **"Wait! Lord Beerus? The destroyer god? He's here?"** Having found him suddenly, Shenron gulped and stared down at the god with what could only be described as a sheepish expression on his face, **"Lord Beerus, it's an honor! Big fan! I… I apologize for looking down on you from this height, but I-"**

"Enough with the pleasantries, dragon! Do you know about the Super Saiyan God or not?" said Beerus irritably, cutting the dragon off.

Shenron hesitated, but nodded quickly and said, **"I know of the Super Saiyan god, yes..."** Even Beerus looked a little relieved as the words left his mouth. **"B-but there isn't one right now! There's this whole thing, you know? According to the Namekian book of legends, there hasn't been one in over fourteen-thousand years, even farther back than the origin of the Super Saiyan legend.** "

And just like that, everyone's hearts sank into the sea beneath them. Beerus, too, was put out by the dragon's words, and crossed his arms with an irate expression. He glared up at the dragon and said, "Now, that can't be right. There's no way that I, _and_ my seer fish, were both wrong about it. Maybe if it was just that impudent little pest…"

" **I assure you Lord Beerus, until recently, the Saiyans were still considered a dead race. One does not exist in this universe. But, I may know how to make one."** Everyone's eyes fixed on him. Beerus put his hands behind his back and nodded for the dragon to continue, and Shenron began, **"According to the legend, the last Super Saiyan god was created in a time of dire need for the Saiyan people under circumstances when their race would have certainly gone extinct. Exact wording of events is debatable, but the story goes that a Super Saiyan god emerged when the greatest danger and strife from within threatened to destroy the whole race. If the story is true, the Saiyans will put forth their collective energy and spirit when all else has failed, which will combine into a single Saiyan who possesses the most righteous and honest heart. They cannot choose who it will be, and it is not a permanent state for the recipient. Legend states that the Super Saiyan God will possess the power to vanquish any foe, even if it is short lived. I do not know if there is a ritual or saying that must accompany the transformation, the text does not state anything as such. But the last Super Saiyan God emerged during a time of civil war, or that's what the legend suggests."**

Goku, like many of the onlookers, just stared up at the dragon, completely lost. Beerus, however, seemed thoughtful. He scratched his chin with his claws and grumbled, "A civil war? Danger from within? Seems to me that this god is less of a god and more of an emergency float for a floundering toddler tossed into a stormy sea. Ugh, I'm sure I remember something about all that from back then... Whis!" Whis raised his eyebrows and looked towards the god curiously, and Beerus asked, "Look back on it, will you? I've got a pretty good idea about what he means, but I want to be sure." With that out of the way, and Whis looking into the crystal orb on top of his staff to see the things which only he could, Beerus turned back towards the dragon and said, "Well, is there anything else in there?"

" **No, Lord Beerus. There really isn't a lot on Saiyan legends in the book. They are a young race, and by all accounts, the Super Saiyan transformation was brought on by the legend of the god form anyways... Even their origins are still uncertain, appearing to have just emerged suddenly on planet Vegeta. That was the whole section dedicated to them, actually."** Shenron once again looked sheepish, his eyes glued to Beerus' form as he awaited any further comment from the god. Receiving none for a few seconds, he hesitantly asked, **"So… Is there a wish I should grant?"**

Beerus held up a finger towards the dragon as Whis leaned in towards him, whispering something behind his hand that none of the others could hear. He jerked back in surprise and peered into the crystal ball himself, scratching his head and muttering, "Did I really?... How did I sleep through all that? You've got to wake me when things like that happen right under my nose..."

Suddenly, Beerus' eyes scanned the crowd, causing them all to step back nervously. Gold irises passed over each of their faces, pausing on the Saiyans' in particular, before coming to rest on Gohan. He pointed a finger at the demi, and Gohan felt his breath hitch. "You, half Saiyan. How is it you can possess so much power without having to transform into one of those super Saiyan thingies? Something about you doesn't smell right."

Gohan hadn't expected that question. He blinked a few times in surprise and managed to say, "Well, it was something that the old Supreme Kai did to me. The one you trapped in the table on that small planet made out of katchin?"

Beerus tilted his head to the side and calmly strode over to him, making Gohan tense nervously as he gently pushed Videl behind him and out of the way. He clenched his fists, even though he knew he couldn't do anything to the god if he tried. Beerus stopped within arms-reach and peered at him with a scrutinizing glare. "That old geezer is out of his cell, then? Well, that's an unusual turn of events. So, he did his little unlocking thing, that explains why your energy feels different than the others, even if its potential is on par with those other two. You might actually be the strongest Saiyan alive, and you're not even full blooded..."

He continued to look over Gohan with those same calculating eyes before he seemed to come to a conclusion. He nodded and looked up towards the dragon, calling loudly, "Yes, dragon, I think I do have a wish for you. I have no use for these people, but I want you to send all the Saiyans here, plus Whis and myself, to that new planet Vegeta at once!"

Gohan felt his stomach drop as he saw Shenron's eyes glow bright, and turned to reach for Videl, but before he could, she was gone. The ship was gone. Earth was gone, and they were suddenly spat out on the surface of Planet Vegeta amongst a very confused gathering of Saiyans numbering in the hundreds.

* * *

The other members of the Z gang stared in disbelief as the all the Saiyans disappeared without a sound, and Shenron stared down at them all expectantly. Videl stared at the spot where her husband had been moments earlier, and felt herself grow faint. She stumbled back and sat in a chair, and breathed heavily to try and gather her shaky emotions. She felt her father immediately come to her side, and he gently shook her shoulders, "Videl! Are you okay! What's wrong?"

She wasn't the only one who had been stricken by the sudden departure of all the Saiyans. Chi Chi, upon realizing that both Goten and Ria had disappeared along with the adult Saiyans, had fainted entirely and collapsed onto her side. Grandpa Ox and Krillin both rushed to her side, trying to wake her. Even Bulma had broken down and started hyperventilating as Trunks had disappeared from her side, and she hung off of Yamcha's shoulder as she tried to regain control of herself.

" **So… there is one more wish to be granted,** " said Shenron, who seemed to be visibly relieved to be out of Beerus' presence. " **Do you people have anything else for me? I would take my leave now if not."**

"Shenron, can you bring the Saiyans back?!" yelled Yamcha suddenly, though none of the others seemed to know if that was a good idea or not.

" **I cannot. They are within the control of Lord Beerus now, I don't have the power to go against him.** " Said Shenron with a shake of his massive head, his voice sounding irritable and tired.

"That doesn't surprise me," said Piccolo, who was staring skyward, as if he could see the Saiyans through space. "I think that this time, we really do need to just wait and watch."

The others sighed heavily and nodded their consent. All across the ship, everyone's breath was being held in anticipation, and the remaining fighters felt out with their ki to try and sense any indication for what was happening.

* * *

The ten who had traveled from Earth looked around at all the Saiyans in surprise, though Beerus was the only one who was smiling. "Ah, it's much like the old planet, isn't it?"

Whis planted his hands on his hips and gave Beerus a reproachful look, "Lord, was it absolutely necessary to use the dragon for such a small thing? I could have had us here in just a couple short minutes, and we could have left the small children behind. There's no need to expose them to this sort of event."

At his words, both Gohan and Vegeta spun about, and realized that Whis had spoken true. Besides the adult Saiyans, Goten, Ria, and Trunks had all been brought along. The three smaller children were staring around at their surroundings in awe, having never seen so many Saiyans before. None of them had accompanied the others to Vegeta before now, so it didn't surprise Gohan that they were stunned.

Beerus gave his attendant a stern look and growled, "I hate long travel time Whis, you know that, and we've already spent enough time speeding through space for my liking. Besides, none of those Earthlings seemed to have a wish for him, so why not?"

Whis shrugged and rolled his eyes, apparently resigning himself to the god's whims. Bardock coughed once and stared hard at Beerus his face reflecting the apprehension they all felt, "Lord Beerus, what was the purpose of that? Does this mean that you are going to spare planet Earth?"

Beerus considered him out of the corner of his eyes, and the others were hanging onto his every word. "No... But it means there might be a chance that _that_ planet won't get disintegrated today. We're here for the Super Saiyan god, at the home of the Saiyans. If it can't be produced, then I'll just destroy this planet first, then go back to Earth and finish the job there, just in case you need any further incentive."

Gohan's heart was dancing around in his chest as he spoke, but he didn't respond. A million thoughts rushed through his mind, most of them surrounding the children and all the possible bad outcomes of what was about to happen. He wanted them to be anywhere else but here if things started to go pear shaped. He wanted to be back on Earth. He wished that Beerus had never come for them. But the god had, and now he was stuck with the fact that they were truly at the mercy of a destroyer, just like everyone else. He looked around at the Saiyans' faces. None of the crowd had spoken a word, none of them had even seemed to move yet. He felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Ria hanging onto it, her wild black hair hiding her face from him as she stared around at everything happening. But he knew she was frightened regardless.

A harsh voice from within the crowd suddenly rang out at them, "Hey! What's going on over here?" The newcomers turned to look at the source of the voice, which took the very large form of Nappa as he parted the crowd. He stepped into the suddenly cleared area and froze in his steps, his eyes fixed firmly on Beerus. His bald head suddenly seemed very damp, and his jaw worked a couple times to try and get words out. It seemed he wasn't the only one who had recognized Beerus either. There were many who were likewise fear-struck, though all of them seemed to be older. Nappa finally found his voice and knelt before Beerus, "M-my lord, Beerus! I-I would have had something prepared something for you to eat, if we had known-"

"I don't suppose I should care who you are? Never mind, I don't." He waved off the large Saiyan and returned his golden eyes to Gohan, who's heart jumped into his throat. "You, I think I'm going to use you to serve my needs. You seem the most promising, and now that we're among all the other Saiyans, I won't wait any longer to get what I want."

Gohan gulped and clenched his fists tighter, and his father stepped in next to him, staring Beerus down with one of the most intense glares Gohan had ever seen cross his usually cheery features. "Now, just wait a second, Beerus! Just leave Gohan out of this, he's already been through enough! This isn't his fight!"

Beerus fixed him with a glare and snarled, "Yeah? Well, unless you back down, he'll die because of you!" Goku didn't take a step back or back down in the slightest, and their eyes clashed. There could have been sparks darting between them had this been some sort of cartoon. Gohan, feeling anxiety and fear for his father, placed a hand on his shoulder and said as confidently as he could, "Dad, just let him do whatever he's going to do. We can't stop him, but if it satisfies him, then I'll play along for now."

Beerus smirked confidently and purred, "That's a good boy." Goku looked at his son over his shoulder, and relented, taking Ria's hand and backing away from him with anxiety etched on his face. Gohan glanced over his shoulder, and realized that both Trunks and Goten were hidden behind Bardock and Vegeta, safe and out of harms way. Beerus pointed a finger at him once more, and Gohan breathed in deeply to prepare himself for whatever it was Beerus was going to do. The god's eyes narrowed, and a pinprick of light appeared at the tip of his claw. "So, tell me, half Saiyan… With all that power bottled up inside you, have you any idea how strong you really are? It's dangerous really… To have been touched by a god, to have such power. No mere mortal should have such unrestricted strength."

Gohan allowed a small smirk to play on his lips as he glared right back, thoughts of his former dark mentality echoing in his mind, and said coolly, "You're not saying anything I haven't thought of myself already. The god you're searching for is supposed to have a righteous and honest heart, so I doubt you'll find him in me. Just don't take it out on everyone else when this fails..."

Beerus gave him a toothy grin and tilted his head to get a different look at him, "Well, an insightful one too, it would seem. But you should know, I don't expect you to become a god…" Gohan's blood ran cold as he growled the words out, and he felt a deeply seated fear emerge for everyone around him as he mulled over what the god could mean. He could feel hundreds of eyes on him, including his father's and Vegeta's. Behind him, Vegeta murmured nervously, "Brat…" and Goku's breath hitched in his throat apprehensively. He could faintly hear Goten whimper.

Beerus' grin suddenly turned vicious, and he said louder, "I expect you to be a catalyst. My cause for a Super Saiyan God!"

A peculiar sensation spread from within Gohan's gut as the prick of light at Beerus' finger shined brightly. Before he knew why, he was suddenly fully powered up, even though he'd been beaten hard by Beerus mere minutes before. His body struggled to hold it all together, and the pain that filled every fiber of his being blinded him to everything around him. He couldn't hear the screams of the Saiyans who were suddenly thrown aside in the gale of his explosive power up. He couldn't hear the frantic cries of his family or Vegeta as they struggled to understand what was happening. He couldn't even see the sky or the clouds that were parting under the force of his raging aura. Everything was just… pain. Inky black pain that swallowed him from within.

* * *

Goku watched in horror as Gohan's aura suddenly exploded around him. Dozens of Saiyans were sent hurtling into the surrounding buildings, leaving only Goku, Vegeta, and Bardock to try and see what was happening through the wind. He internally thanked his mother for acting so quickly to grab hold of both Goten and Ria as they were being hurtled away, and Trunks had grabbed onto them. If nothing else, at least they were together while he focused on Gohan. His oldest son's scream sounded like nothing he'd ever heard from the young man before. It was agonized, defeated and broken in a way that even Cell hadn't been able to elicit before he'd ascended. Whatever Beerus had done to him, it was causing him so much pain that it seemed he had lost all control. Goku peered from between his arms as he fought against the wind, and froze in terror. Gohan was growing, and growing fast.

His screams turned from the agonized wailing into a guttural roar as his face elongated. Thick black fur started springing up all over his skin, and his clothes tore away as he suddenly was much too large for them. The grass ring Lime had given him so many years ago popped loose from the leather chord tied around his neck, straight into the unsuspecting hands of a very startled Female Saiyan who Goku didn't know. His tail unfurled from about his waist to hang in the air, and his normally black eyes were turning bloodshot to the point that they looked red. Massive fists waved in the air, and a thundering sound echoed through the air as Gohan's transformation crushed the buildings around them. Soon it was done, and Gohan was easily standing over fifty feet tall.

While they had been working with the demi over the course of the last year on controlling the Oozaru transformation, since he had opted to keep his tail, there was no sign that he was even remotely in control at that moment. Those amber eyes flashed dangerously in all directions, like a beast suddenly woken by a gunshot, and his breathing was far from the calm and steady pattern he'd been practicing. He roared and flailed his arms about in obvious rage and agony, crushing buildings left and right. Vegeta and Bardock nodded towards each other and immediately powered up to whatever they had left in them: a paltry amount - though still super - compared to what they were normally capable of.

But Goku was frozen on the spot, staring at his son in horror as he thrashed about in a panic. He turned his head towards Beerus, who had wisely floated back a bit so as to be out of Gohan's way. He was smiling knowingly, and his eyes were glinting in the low light that was casting him in an orange hue. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him that this was all a calculated part of his plan. Whis was staring at the Oozaru, a hint of surprise in his expression, and it seemed that he wasn't as privy to Beerus' plans as he may have led them all to believe. Goku turned his head just in time to see Gohan swipe his enormous hand down and swat away a pair of hapless Saiyans who couldn't get out of his reach in time. The duo was flung away to crash through a building, and Goku could feel their ki fading rapidly into nothing as the life was crushed out of them. A jolt of panic rushed through him, and he shouted angrily at Beerus, "Whatever you did to him, you've got to stop it! Change him back before it's too late!"

Beerus merely raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, "If this is what I need to do to get my Super Saiyan God, then that's how it's going to be! Either your people will band together and produce what I want, or that boy is going to destroy this world and all the people on it. Either way, I'll get a good show."

Goku gritted his teeth and clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles looked ready to split. He rapidly thought about any ways to change Gohan back, to bring everything back under something resembling control, but Beerus tutted at him and wagged a finger, like he was reprimanding a child. "Now now, Goku. I assure you, that boy is far too much for Vegeta to take without your help, and you couldn't kill him even if you wanted to. Nobody else on this planet could do anything about it either, even if they all combined their fighting strength. Besides his own power, he has my own little boost. See, you people use precious little of your actual power because of a sub-conscious restraint, because of pain. I removed all of his sense and turned him into your giant ape thing your people are capable of, so now there's no restrictions. All of the barriers are down, and he's going to use every ounce of his power because there's nothing else he _can_ do. Of course, I could still deal with him myself, but then I wouldn't get what I want. You only have one option left... I suggest you hop to, and use it."

Goku gaped at him, and then returned his gaze to his son, and felt his heart sink further. The god was right, even as things stood now, Goku couldn't bring himself to try and kill his own son. It didn't matter if that was the only way to save them all, he just couldn't do it, not after everything he'd been through because of Goku's arrogance so long ago. A small group of Saiyans had mustered themselves, headed by Nappa. Amongst their numbers was Raditz, and the four of Bardock's elite, plus another dozen or so. Vegeta and Bardock were opposite them, doing their best to get through Gohan's mass of flailing limbs to try to talk him back down. Goku spared Beerus one last hateful glare and transformed into the second level of super Saiyan before shooting off to join them in their labors. But none of their efforts proved useful, and seconds later, all three of the Super Saiyans had been batted aside by Gohan's mindless raging fists. Having had enough of their futile attempts, Nappa roared out a command, and the Saiyans attacked Gohan from the air, sending a hail of blasts down at him that blotted out the low light of the planet's star.

"NO! BACK OFF, ALL OF YOU!" roared Goku frantically through his aching ribs, in spite of knowing that Gohan had to be stopped. But the blasts met Gohan's huge form before anything else could be done to help him. Detonations of heat and sound echoed through the air, and Gohan roared in pain. Goku could see patches of fur and flesh disintegrate in the intense heat, but nothing worse seemed to have happened. Seconds later, when the smoke cleared, Gohan stood straight and bellowed at them in response, a huge golden blast erupting from his maw. The beam shot through the sky, obliterating anyone too slow to get out of the way. Goku had to hide his face from the heat of it, even as far away from it as he was.

Screams rent the air in two as a half dozen of the Saiyan reaction force were swallowed in the blast. When the air cleared, Goku gaped up at the resulting damage, and saw that both Shugesh and Nappa had been amongst the fallen, of which there wasn't a trace. Gohan pounded his fists into the ground, and Goku could feel the planet shake and rumble as huge cracks shot outwards from under his hands. He knew that if his son kept this up, they were within mere moments of the planet simply falling apart beneath them.

"What did he do to him?! I thought we'd gotten past this!" yelled Bardock, his voice lined with despair and anger.

Up above them, Beerus' voice echoed out to all of them, "He's not all there right now, Saiyan. I may be a destroyer, but I'm not detached enough to see the boy wouldn't have killed another of his kind unless absolutely necessary. Suffice to say, he's in so much agony right now that it's blinded him to everything else... Produce a Super Saiyan God, or suffer at the hands of this mindless monster. Your choice."

All the Saiyans eyes looked up at him, and he just smirked down at them all viciously. Vegeta growled angrily and formed a bright white ball in his hands, which Goku and Bardock both recognized as the artificial moon he'd used to change himself into an Oozaru. Bardock shook his head and grasped onto the prince's wrist, yelling loudly, "No! The only thing we'd accomplish by transforming everyone is the assured destruction of our planet! He's going to do it, even without our help!"

"To hell with it! The I'll not cater to this nonsense any longer! Either we take the brat down, or we all die! I'd rather go down with a massive final fight than wait helplessly while the brat kills us all!" roared Vegeta furiously, wrenching his arm out of Bardock's grip and throwing the ball skyward. But before it had even gone a hundred feet, a peculiar molecule-shaped blast darted in from the side and exploded in a colossal detonation, causing an even louder thundering noise than the one surrounding Gohan as he flailed about. Vegeta gaped at it in disbelief, his hand still outstretched to perform the second half of the blast that would transform them all.

"Try that again Vegeta, and I'll just kill you. It's much too early in the show for you to go and destroy the planet for me... By the way, you're down to two minutes left." Drawled Beerus irritably.

"What?! We're on a time schedule now!" Yelled Vegeta angrily, baring his teeth up at the god. But nothing more could be said before Gohan's roar filled the sky once more, and the planet shook with fresh tremors. The others spun around and gaped in shock. Gohan had unleashed another white-hot beam that had cleaved clean through the planet and a huge number of Saiyans who weren't quick enough to get out of the way. Molten material was pushing up to the surface, and Goku could feel the ground below his feet preparing to come apart.

Vegeta growled in his chest and yelled at the nearest Saiyan warrior, a female with mid-back length hair and almond shaped eyes, "You, send out the call, get every warrior here as soon as possible! Now, move!" She sent him a smart salute and shot off into the sky towards King Vegeta's new stronghold. The prince turned to the rest and started bellowing orders again. "The rest of you, we need to hold Gohan off as long as possible! Don't let him get a hold of you, and don't get in his way! He is not in his right mind, and will kill you! I hate to say it, but destroy him if you must, but only on my command! We have to save him if possible!"

The remaining Saiyans in the area all shouted their acknowledgements, and had immediately gone to work trying to separate Gohan from the planet to delay the destruction of the planet beneath them. Approximately twenty had managed to knock the raging Oozaru over onto it's back and lift him off the ground with great difficulty. Aside from being absurdly heavy, he wouldn't sit still long enough for many of them to actually get a hold on his squirming limbs. Within seconds, another dozen Saiyans were laying in crumpled heaps, either unconscious or dead. Gohan was more difficult to restrain than ever, and Vegeta marveled in his mind that this was exactly the sort of thing he'd feared happening years prior when the boy was troubled and dark. His power was unparalleled in this state, and without the rest of them being able to transform, they were truly at his mercy.

Less than thirty seconds later, a huge gathering of Saiyans numbering somewhere in the thousands had arrived, crowding the air and ground alike as their planet was starting to crumble. Most could only watch in awe. Some recognized the giant Oozaru, and some were so lost as to why it was happening that they could only stare in shock. The first few that had arrived had jumped right in, sending small blasts to try and weaken the demi. But for each weakening blow Gohan took, he removed another Saiyan with his fists, massive jaws, or a blast. One more massive blast unleashed by Gohan cut through the Saiyans in a wide ark, and punched right through the center of the planet, and it was all about to be over. Goku watched the Saiyan numbers being thinned with such cruel efficiency and felt his heart break. One look at Vegeta told him that he was on the verge of giving up himself, and the remaining Saiyans were gathered around him and the Prince in a huge spread-out mass, despair written on all of their faces.

The sense of loss and despair was hanging in the air as thick the acrid smoke billowing up from the rents in the planet. Gohan's roars echoed in the sky and shook them, the pounding of his feet and fists shattering huge chunks of the planet with each blow, and he was bleeding from the hundreds of minor wounds inflicted upon him. But he was still raging mindlessly, completely oblivious to everything around him, or even the pain of his wounds. Up above them all hung Beerus and Whis, who was holding a handkerchief over his mouth and nose, staring at them with something akin to pity written across his features.

Beerus held up two of his fingers and growled disappointedly, "Twenty seconds, Saiyans. Your people are scattered, a lot of them dead. Your need is greater than ever, produce the Super Saiyan god now!"

Gohan roared again and threw his fists skyward, unleashing a blast that blotted out everything else. The beam cut through the sky, in a wide arc as it consumed even more of them. The Saiyans watched helplessly, too stricken to even fight back anymore. Their fear was hanging so thick in the air that it seemed it could have been collected and bottled if one were to try. In fact, it was potent enough that it seemed to be glowing. Each Saiyan seemed to have a light from the center of their chest that dimly shined in the hazy orange air.

"FIFTEEN SECONDS, SAIYANS!" roared Beerus. But it had already begun. Suddenly, a lance of light shot outward from prince Vegeta's chest and directly into the back of Goku, who gasped in shock, his eyes widening and staring into nothing. Then a second beam from Bardock, then Gine, then the three Demi Saiyans, who had all reappeared from within the shelter of a building as the world started to crumble around them. Then all the Saiyans that were still alive were likewise stricken. Lances of light shot towards Goku from all directions, making an intricate spider-web of light that blotted out even Gohan's intense blast.

"Now, Whis!" Roared Beerus excitedly with a huge toothy grin on his face, and within seconds a massive bubble erupted over Goku and a large portion of the Saiyans, with Beerus and Whis hanging above them inside it. Time seemed to slow down as Goku was raised into the air, all the lights seeming to hold him up like a mid evil pike thrust through his chest. He screamed in pain just as the planet around them crumbled and fell apart. Gohan fell through the rocky ground and disappeared into the planet core, and the Saiyans left outside the bubble screamed and went silent. The air left their lungs cold and empty as the planet's atmosphere dispersed in the solar wind from their star, and the planet exploded as the core ruptured outwards. The only thing left was the large chunk inside the bubble with a few hundred Saiyans.

Goku was still screaming, but the lances of light had left the Saiyans' hearts, leaving them panting on the ground. As Goku began glowing brighter and brighter, Whis made a wide sweep with his staff. Without saying a word, the crystal orb glowed brightly, and things suddenly started happening. Pieces of the planet started zipping back into place. The Saiyans who had been cast into space returned to their positions, and Gohan's massive form came back up from beneath the surface of the dying planet. The battle started playing in reverse with the exception of the people inside the bubble, and the planet started mending. All the while, Beerus stared intently at Goku's glowing form, which had grown so bright as to blot out all other light.

Then it stopped, the bubble retracted, and the familiar smell of Vegeta's stale and dry air rushed back in towards them. Gohan, who had been flailing about in agony, suddenly froze and stared at the bright glowing form of Goku. Vegeta panted and looked up, and noticed that they'd apparently gone back in time, though he had no clue how that was even possible. Even the first two casualties of Gohan's rampaging, who had been swatted through a building, were now back among the living. Everyone was staring at Goku, and Vegeta realized why.

He'd changed, his golden glow changing to a bright red hue. As the light faded to tolerable levels, Goku's form became clear. His spiky golden hair had been replaced by his normal hair, except it had turned a light red color. His clothing was still ragged, and hung on his frame, which was now much leaner than it had been before. Even Goku's eyes had been changed, turning a bright scarlet color that didn't look right on his surprisingly tan face. The most bizarre though, was the fact that Vegeta couldn't feel Goku's ki at all. It had simply disappeared, but the power of this new form was crackling in the air with a resounding snap at each zap of lightning.

"Um, Lord Beerus, now that he's been changed, perhaps you should do something with the half Saiyan before he starts rampaging again?" came the voice of Whis from above and behind Vegeta. He tore his eyes away from Goku's strange form just in time to hear Beerus grunt, and see him point a finger lazily towards the towering Oozaru. A similar prick of light appeared on the tip of his finger as it had before, and Gohan's ki began to fade rapidly. Vegeta spun back around to see Gohan shrinking rapidly, the hair covering his body dissipating into nothing. He was unconscious before his normal form ever returned, his naked body collapsing in a heap where he stood. Bardock rushed to him, and Gine held the twins back as they tried to run towards their older brother. Even Trunks had to be restrained by a startled looking male Saiyan with long flowing black locks.

Vegeta watched for a moment as Bardock barked out orders to get clothes for Gohan at the nearest Saiiyan, the same female Saiyan who had caught Gohan's ring and was still clenching it in her fist, and she rushed off towards a nearby building. The prince turned his attention back towards Goku, who had locked eyes with Beerus, an intense glare on his face. He quickly jogged over to the other Saiyan, and stood at his side, likewise staring at Beerus, "Kakarot, what happened to you? What the hell is going on?"

"He's turned into a god, Prince. Or, I assume that's what this is. Can you feel his energy?" asked Beerus in response, before Goku could utter a word. Vegeta stared hard at him, then turned to look at Goku in disbelief. _This is a Super Saiyan God? Really? He looks a lot weaker than his normal self… But he's right, I can't feel his ki at all. That must mean he_ has _become a god…_

Goku nodded in affirmation, his gaze still firmly fixed on Beerus, "Right. I think that this must be what he was after. I think he's right, though I'm not sure, seeing how I've never become a god before... I can feel his ki now, Vegeta…"

Vegeta gaped at him for a moment, then turned red in the face and yelled, "Aw come on! Why does it always get to be you?!"

Goku gave him a sideways look with his eyebrows raised in surprise. He chuckled in his usual innocent way and scratched at the back of his neck, "Sorry Vegeta! I didn't know it would be me! Honest!"

"Ahem… I'm still here, you two," droned Beerus irritably, his hands propped up on his hips. Behind him, Whis seemed unusually amused about something and was stifling a chuckle by biting on his first finger. Beerus rolled his shoulders and gave Goku a toothy grin, "Well, Saiyan. Now that you've become a god, what say you and I spar again? High stakes bets."

Goku nodded, but held up a hand to stall him, "Sure, but first… You tell me what you just did... Last I saw, the planet was about to explode."

Beerus seemed slightly annoyed with being told what to do, but let it slide. He merely held a hand out towards Whis, who coughed once and explained cheerfully, "Temporal do-over. It's something that I'm capable of. I'll not get into how I learned it, since it's a long story, but it allows me to turn back time to about five minutes prior, just in case Lord Beerus destroys something he ought not to. Oh, and don't worry, none of the Saiyans who'd perished will remember having done so in the slightest. In fact, even your Son won't remember, though he'll have one beast of a hangover when he wakes up."

"That's enough, Whis." Grumbled Beerus, who then added under his breath, "Don't need to tell them I make mistakes sometimes…"

Goku shrugged and planted his hands on his hips, "Well, I'm not going to doubt you on that… But you should know," he removed his hands and clenched his fists at his sides, his eyes taking on a much harsher visage as he glared up at Beerus, "You shouldn't have used my son to get what you want. You'll pay for that."

Beerus gave him a confident grin and held up a hand, beckoning Goku with a wave of his hand. "Well then, show me what a Super Saiyan God is capable of."

Goku gave Vegeta a quick nod and rose into the air, "Vegeta, I'd suggest you get everyone back. You guys can't feel his power, but I can. This fight could get out of hand real quick." As he reached the same height as Beerus, Goku fixed him with his stare once more and said loudly, "And as for this fight, if I win, you'll spare both Earth and Vegeta, right?"

Beerus held his hands out at his sides and said confidently, "Give me a good fight, Saiyan, and I'll consider it. Kill me, and you'll be the next god of destruction. Though you'll be hard pressed to do either."

Vegeta watched from the ground in disbelief. Bardock, Gine, and the children all joined him, and likewise stared up at the duo as Whis dropped to the ground. At his side, he heard Ria pipe up nervously, "Is that dad? That can't be dad! I mean, his hair is red!"

Nobody seemed willing to respond, their attention solely fixed on the impending fight. Across from them, Bardock was busy pulling a set of Saiyan armor onto Gohan's unconscious form, with the help of Tora and the female Saiyan who had gone to get him some armor, who was toting an intense blush and keeping her eyes firmly averted from Gohan's bare form. Up above, things suddenly started happening, drawing all eyes up towards the fighters.

Goku made the first move, darting forward faster than Beerus had predicted, landing a harsh uppercut beneath the god's chin. But he recovered quickly and countered with a spinning kick. Goku blocked it and returned the favor with a kick and a flurry of lightning fast punches, all of which were met by Beerus' own blocks. Beerus grasped Goku's wrist as he punched, and threw a straight punch that hit Goku directly in the sternum. A loud crack rent the air, and the two gods separated briefly. Neither one looked the slightest bit winded, and were sizing each other up.

Vegeta gaped up at them, barely being able to catch half of what had just transpired in the blink of an eye. The other Saiyans were completely baffled. They knew something had just happened, but couldn't tell what it was. Goku cracked his neck and scowled, and Vegeta could tell the fight was filling the Saiyan with something he'd rarely seen on his face: hatred.

"That's much better, isn't it Saiyan?" said Beerus with a smirk, before placing his arms behind his back and straightening his back confidently.

Goku settled back into his stance, a blend between turtle school and Kai, and snarled through bared teeth, "I guess, the power up is definitely impressive." Vegeta noted that there was a hint of disappointment in his voice, though he couldn't understand why.

Before any further thought could be given to it, Goku sprung back into action. He bolted across the sky and met Beerus with a headbutt, which the god returned in kind. Their skulls crashed together, the force of the impact forcing several on the ground to their knees as the shockwave washed over them. The fight started back up in earnest again. The two gods parted, then met again repeatedly, each meeting bringing a new series of strikes and blocks that sent shockwaves through the air. Most of the Saiyans on the ground couldn't keep up, with only Vegeta and Bardock being able to track where they were with any reliability. But even for them, it was difficult.

A loud hollow boom echoed through the sky, and before anyone could react, a hole had been drilled in the ground about a mile away from the Saiyans, where one of the fighters had impacted it. Vegeta turned his eyes skyward and saw Goku, his red aura flaring about him. Not allowing any breathing room, Goku spun in the air and bolted for the ground. But Beerus had recovered quicker than the Saiyan had anticipated, and burst from the ground, shattering it outwards in a shower of rocks and debris. Beerus punched Goku hard, and sent him reeling backwards and away from the crowd.

Realizing he was going to lose sight of them soon, Vegeta turned his glare towards Gine and spat, "You, keep an eye on the children. I've got to keep up with the fight." Without waiting for a response, he took to the air. He felt Bardock follow him, as well as a handful of the others who dared try to keep up. He could feel the fight moving into the distance, and on more than one occasion was hit by a harsh gust of wind as another shockwave slammed into him. He gritted his teeth and thought irritably, _Damn you, Kakarot! Next time, I get to do the god thing! This is just unreal!_

* * *

Goku was in awe of his own strength. In the midst of the fight, his mind was still calm enough to stay rational and think about what he was doing. _This is incredible! I can sense Beerus' power, and I don't know how I ever thought I'd be able to take him, even as a Super Saiyan three! With this god power stuff, I'm staying with him at every blow. But…_ He paused his thoughts to focus on the fight for a moment as Beerus unleashed an incredible combo of punches that flowed smoothly into a back kick that almost caught him unawares. But he got his arm up in time and swatted the leg away, returning immediately with an elbow that struck the god in the side of the head. Beerus fell away from him, and Goku stared down at his hand with a frown. _This isn't my own power… I had to gain it from the entire Saiyan race when my own son was turned against us, I was selected by chance, and all to save my planet in a pinch… It doesn't feel right._

Beerus returned to his height, a calm look on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "Well, I must admit Goku, I am surprised by the skill you possess. Strange that it only took you gaining enough power to challenge me for it to really come to fruition. Yet…" he hesitated, tilting his head to the side with a curious look, "You don't look happy about it."

Goku breathed heavily through his nose and nodded, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Vegeta and a few stragglers were catching up. "Yeah, I'm not."

Beerus seemed genuinely surprised by that, and crossed his arms reproachfully, "Oh? Why might that be? You've gained the power of a god, what more could you want?"

Goku gritted his teeth and stared hard into Beerus' eyes, "Yeah, but it's not mine! You resorted to making Gohan go berserk, making us watch as he destroyed everything he'd worked for over the last couple years. This isn't my power, this is just the last desperate hope of a dying people, and I don't want it!"

Beerus stared back for a moment, then smirked. It wasn't his usual vicious smirk, but one that actually held some amusement, and an emotion Goku couldn't identify. "My, you are a unique specimen, aren't you? I've never met a Saiyan with such a firm devotion to his pride and honor. Even I can appreciate that... Color me impressed."

Goku snarled and rushed forward, interrupting the conversation. But this time, Beerus was ready for him. They met in a flurry of blows too fast for the naked eye to catch, the shockwaves of their strikes shattering the air around them. For every blow that Goku took, he managed to sneak one in as well. A punch here, a kick there, the two of them were getting hit in equal measure. Goku hit Beerus once in the sternum with a hard hook, and found an opening. With each new hit he landed, he forced out his words, "You're wrong… About… Saiyans! We're all… defined… by our… Pride!"

With a final hard roundhouse to the face, he sent Beerus reeling backwards, spinning through the air. The god halted himself before he'd gone more than twenty feet and righted himself, breathing hard and wiping his cheek irritably. Goku scowled and gritted out, "And I'm no different! I may have been raised as an Earthling, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I want to prove myself against the strongest opponents I can just like any other Saiyan! You don't understand how important it is to us… for me to just be given this power without having to work for it is an insult to everything I am, who I was raised as, and what my instincts demand. And for you to get your way the way you did… I don't understand how you could be so callous towards the thousands of innocent lives you threatened, just for a petty fight."

Beerus seemed slightly taken aback, but quickly hid it behind an impassive mask. Beerus, for the first time, settled back into a fighting stance that was entirely foreign to Goku, alien in every aspect. He looked loose, relaxed, but every fiber of muscle on his thin frame was twitching and ready to snap into action on a moment's notice. He frowned and growled angrily, "Are you done preaching to me, Saiyan?"

Goku only snarled in response and likewise settled into his perfected fighting stance. Beerus suddenly grinned viciously and exploded forward, catching Goku by surprise. He suddenly was full of an energy that hadn't been there before, and it spurred the destroyer into new speeds that even Goku hadn't expected. The god delivered a punishing blow that struck Goku in the throat with his elbow, and Goku felt something there give painfully. But before he could so much as cough to clear his constricted throat, Beerus followed up with a powerful one-two that hit Goku in the chest and nose before spinning in the air and driving an axe kick down into the side of Goku's neck. The kick sent Goku careening down to the planet's surface to land face up against the hard dirt in a crater. He hadn't even had a moment's pause to try and gather his senses before Beerus was on top of him, driving a foot down on his already aching neck throat and pinning him to the ground as his windpipe was further crushed under foot.

Goku struggled through the pain, grasping onto Beerus' booted foot and cracking one eye to peer up at the god. Beerus just stared down at him with a stern expression, "You've misjudged me, Goku, just as I misjudged you and your kind." Goku was surprised by his tone, which was less vicious, even gentle and instructive now. "I knew the only way to get what I wanted was by forcing the Saiyans to actually work together in a way not even King Vegeta could direct them to. I always get what I want, but that doesn't mean that I do so out of cruelty. You don't know how boring life is when it's stretched over hundreds of millions of years, and this fight was exactly what I needed to break the monotony of destroying and being disappointed. I put all my eggs in one basket, bet everything on a Super Saiyan god appearing in the time limit allowed by Whis' abilities. Look how I have been rewarded, with little cost to you or any of your precious Saiyans. Take that for whatever you make of it, but I am not nearly as callous as you suggest."

With that, he removed his foot and stepped back, staring down at Goku as he coughed and sputtered. Goku rubbed his neck in pain, and struggled to his feet. He was startled by how much that attack had worn him down, and breathed heavily with ragged breaths. He could taste the metallic tang of blood on his tongue, but felt a strange calm come over him at the god's words. Beerus placed his hands behind his back again and looked up at Goku thoughtfully. "You know, that was the first time I had to use that much power in a very long time, Goku… But I think you have some more strength buried in there somewhere, don't you? This time, use all of your strength, bring out your best moves. I want to see them for myself."

Goku flexed his hands, looking down at them thoughtfully. His red aura was still rising around him like a steadily burning flame, and as his breathing came back under his control, he stared at Beerus again. The god smiled confidently and beckoned for the Saiyan to continue the fight, and this time, Goku actually felt something stir in him beyond his fear and anger. He actually felt excitement for the battle. He clenched his fists and once again settled back in his stance. He felt a smile come unbidden to his face, and said, "Alright Lord Beerus, you've got more fight coming. This time, no holding back, and I'll return the favor."

* * *

 **A/N: Gonna end there for now. So how does it stack up against canon? It's different, so I'll explain my reasoning for doing it this way. First, I understand the need for the ritual in canon. In fact, I'm okay with the way it was done in the show. However, I still wish that it had been more than a convenient way to announce Videl's pregnancy. The pairing of Gohan and Videl is one of my favorites in Anime, and it felt like such a huge announcement was brought down a lot by the impending doom of the planet. I get it, it's to add suspense and bla bla bla, but that never quite felt right to me, even if it was enjoyable. Considering i'd revived the Saiyans in my last fic, it only made sense to bring them all in somehow. Next was Beerus' character. I'm not sure what to make of his legendarily bad temper and reason for starting the fight in canon. I like Beerus in general, he's a good addition to the show, but I didn't like that there was "no reason for what he does", as the old Kai said in the show. I imagine a god of destruction as being a cold and ruthless fighter who'd lost his passion for everything, but I didn't like the whole "wah, I didn't get any pudding" tantrum. Food seems like a worthy distraction for him to dive into, and his search for a rival gives him a decent motive worth pursuing. So I tried to make him seem like a god who knew what he wanted and was willing to do anything to get it, rather than an oblivious god who just flailed about like an angry toddler until he was handed it on a silver platter. Basically, I wanted him to be crafty and intelligent with an ulterior motive in everything he did. As for Gohan's involvement, as I said once before, I don't want to change the whole story just to give Gohan the spotlight. They all should have their turn in my opinion, so I'm going to give it to them.**

 **Anyways, sorry for the long note at the end, I just wanted to make my intent clear, if it wasn't apparent in the story itself. I'll see you next time, and as always, have a good day/night/whatever time of day it is for you!**


	9. Failure

**Howdy! So we're back, and I admit, I had a hard time getting this one on paper. Generally, I have a really easy time getting my ideas out pretty quick with editing and proofreading taking up most of the time spent, but this one was rough on me for some reason. I had to figure out exactly where I was going to go with this to make it actually worth reading. Hopefully I did it justice.**

 **Also, a quick note for DmCKingOfHollows,** **who left me a guest review on this story: I deleted the guest review because it wasn't a review of the story, but a request for a new one. Please don't do that via review, you can send me requests and questions via PM.** **But since one person asked, I might as well address the question publicly. Yes, I will read and consider any requests for stories that you want me to write, I enjoy writing. However, I may not respond at all, and odds are (especially with school starting back up) that I won't have time for it. Please don't take it personally. Additionally, if you want me to do a crossover like this guy (A Devil May Cry and DBZ crossover in this instance) where I know precious little about half of the source material, then I most likely won't do it. But anyways, enough of my rambling, on to the story!**

* * *

C **hapter 9: Failure**

Gohan stirred, feeling his senses returning to him slowly and painfully. He cracked his eyes and groaned in pain as the light from the setting star assaulted his vision. He pushed himself over onto his side and felt the urge to vomit, much worse than even after he'd had that Saiyan grog with Vegeta.

"Easy there, kid." Came a familiar voice that was low and full of concern. Gohan recognized it as being the voice of Tora.

"Brat earned this headache. If he'd been able to control the Oozaru form like a real Saiyan-" came another familiar and frustrated voice, which Gohan immediately placed as belonging to Nappa. But the large Saiyan was cut off by a female, one which Gohan didn't recognize. "You heard what Lord Beerus said, Nappa! He did something to his mind, he couldn't have controlled it no matter how hard he tried!"

He shook his head to try and rid his mind of the hazy feeling dominating it, and immediately regretted it. He clenched his jaw and pushed himself up to sitting, and opened his eyes again. This time, he managed to keep them open after a few blinks to allow them to adjust. What greeted him was an odd scene. He was surrounded by a wild commotion as Saiyans rushed about. Tora was kneeling next to him, and giving a reproachful glare towards the towering Saiyan who had once terrorized Gohan as a child. Standing a short distance away was the woman who Gohan assumed was the one who had cut Nappa off. She was wearing the usual Saiyan armor of black and gold that was very similar in form to the set that his grandmother had been wearing. She had shoulder length hair that jutted out in all directions, and a much tanner skin-tone than he was accustomed to seeing on Saiyans. He couldn't see her face, but judging by her build, she was not one of the Saiyans who's primary job was fighting. No, she seemed of a softer type, like Gine.

"Regardless, I want to know what the hell just happened. How did you even transform without a full moon, brat?" snarled Nappa, none too gently.

Gohan coughed to clear his throat and thought hard, but he couldn't quite piece it together in his head. He remembered the conversation with Beerus, and then blinding pain. Nothing else after that made sense. By the sounds of it, he'd transformed into an Oozaru, though he had no memory of it at all. He glanced down and realized that he'd been dressed in a set of armor, similar in shape to the set that Raditz had worn upon his arrival on Earth. He groaned and pulled himself up to standing, feeling his limbs come back under his control slowly, and said, "I couldn't tell you for certain. Whatever Beerus did to me, I can't remember any of it."

The female turned to look at him as he spoke, and Gohan was startled into inaction. She was almost identical to Lime in facial structure and physical stature, though her eyes and hair were still the midnight black of normal Saiyans as opposed to Lime's auburn hair and green eyes. The thought about his Earth-born friend suddenly jolted him upright, and he looked down at his chest where Lime's ring usually hung, and felt a slight panic take hold. "Wait! Where's my ring?"

The female hesitated for a moment before seeming to realize something, and searched herself quickly before she held up the small ring for him to see. "This one?"

A flood of relief washed over Gohan, and he felt himself smile. "Yeah, that's it." The Saiyan took a few hesitant steps towards him, and held it out in her fist, palm down, with a furious blush on her cheeks. Gohan was a bit puzzled by her demeanor, but reached out and took the offered ring from her. She withdrew her hand hastily and averted her eyes from him. Gohan quirked an eyebrow, then felt a jolt of realization and thought, _Oh… She must've seen all of me after I'd returned to normal size… Huh, seems even some Saiyans have some sort of taboo on nudity if she's freaking out about it… That, or she's still young? Yeah, that's probably it; most of the older women are pretty care-free when it comes to their sexuality... I mean shit, look at Fasha! she basically offered herself up to make a child with me, dad_ and _Vegeta as soon as she was brought back to life because she figured she'd make strong kids, even though we've all been claimed and are off limits…_

"Thanks, uh… Mind if I know your name?" he said in a disarming voice, hoping to keep her from feeling any awkward tension towards him. Cultural barriers or not, he could show some common courtesy towards the girl. After all, she'd caught his ring for him and returned it, it was only fair that he thank her for it.

She hesitated, staring back at him with a stern look that was obviously intended to intimidate him, though her cheeks remained pink. After a moment, she simply said, "Cassa."

Gohan smiled and said firmly, "Well, Cassa. Thanks. Really, I don't know what I'd do if I lost this." He tied the leather chord back around his neck and tucked the ring down beneath the collar of the armor. Cassa merely nodded and stared pointedly down towards the ground, her glare faltering, and Gohan could swear he could feel her anxiety radiating outwards. _Well, can't say I didn't try to make it less weird,_ thought Gohan resignedly.

"Enough of the pleasantries! You kids can go fuck away all the awkward tension later, just don't go getting off topic because of a pretty face, boy! Explain to me, what's going on? Kakarot is all different, and Lord Beerus says he's a god now?! What's all of this about!" sputtered Nappa furiously, drawing the attention back to him, and making Gohan's temper flare dangerously. Cassa turned a brilliant shade of scarlet, and glared at the towering Saiyan so hard it seemed he would simply burst into flames.

"Enough, Nappa! Don't force me to show you how little it would bother me to kill you." snarled Gohan viciously, fixing the tall Saiyan with a stern glare. Nappa fell silent and stared right back, a cold sweat on his brow. But all the same, Gohan felt a cold chill in his gut at the words now rattling in his head, and suddenly realized that he hadn't even spared a thought to his father or the others. He immediately felt out with his ki and found Vegeta, along with another small gathering of Saiyans who were traveling away from him at high speed. His father's ki was nowhere to be found, and he couldn't feel a fight happening, but in the moment of silence after his threat, he swore he could _feel_ the air pulsing and vibrating. He also felt the familiar ki of Goten, Ria, and Trunks approaching, and turned just in time to catch the twins as they leapt towards him.

"Gohan! You're okay!", "You had me worried!" yelled Goten and Ria excitedly in unison. Behind them, looking slightly abashed, was Trunks, who just looked up at him with a relieved smile on his face.

"Hey squirts! Everyone alright? Nobody got hurt, right?" asked Gohan worriedly, looking between the three of them. He noticed that Gine had also appeared, looking just as relieved, and gave her a short nod of familiarity.

"Yeah, you turned into a great ape and started smashing stuff!" said Ria, with a distant look in her eyes and a grimace on her lips.

"It was bad, Gohan… If it weren't for Whis and his time change stuff…" Goten trailed off, giving a worried look around at their surroundings, which had been severely damaged by Gohan.

Gohan had to do a double take before turning his eyes towards the adult Saiyans around him. Nappa shrugged with a scowl, and Gine spoke up, "He's not kidding Gohan… You actually destroyed the planet just before Kakarot changed, and took most of the Saiyans with it. The damage you see here was basically just the result of you transforming. The tall blue one, Whis did this… thing… I'm not sure how to describe it besides turning back time. He reversed all the damage, all the Saiyans who'd died were revived, and everything went back to right before you'd started really rampaging. Nobody but the people who were with Whis inside his shield remember it apparently."

Gohan felt his heart sink with every word, and looked over to Tora for affirmation. The taller Saiyan just nodded in response, and Gohan gulped. Nappa was at a loss for words, considering he hadn't been inside the bubble when the time change happened. He literally wasn't there for any of it, and gaped at Gine as she explained. Gohan sighed heavily and said, "So be it. Can't change anything that happened now, can I? What about dad? I can't feel his ki anywhere."

Trunks spoke up for the first time, saying excitedly, "He started fighting Beerus! It was crazy! I couldn't even keep up with their movements at all! Dad looked like he was following it okay, but man were they fast!"

Gohan picked his eyes up, looking in the direction he could feel Vegeta's ki in. _Dad's really done it? He's become a god?_ "Looks like I'll need to be filled in on the finer details later," he said grimly, "I've got a fight to catch up to."

* * *

Goku sputtered and coughed as Beerus landed an intense elbow just beneath his ribs, driving the wind entirely from his lungs. Even though the god had revealed something of a softer side to his personality for a moment in the midst of their fight, he certainly wasn't holding back in the fight itself. He was driving Goku to the absolute limits of his abilities, which seemed to be expanding with every passing moment. Each movement brought forth new waves of strength that revealed an ever-expanding wealth of ki and strength that Goku had never even imagined being possible. It astounded him that his body was capable of the things he was doing now. Beerus hadn't said a word since their fight had resumed, but it still seemed like he was coaching Goku through his new abilities through his fighting alone. Goku didn't know how to explain it, it was like his body was learning on its own, even when his mind was struggling to catch up.

Goku grunted and rebounded quickly from the blow to his gut, forcing down the instinctual reaction to shy away from the pain, and retaliating. He grasped Beerus by the wrist and dropped his weight with a sharp twist of his hands, forcing Beerus to drop in altitude and arch backwards to avoid having Goku break his wrist. The Saiyan used the wrist-lock to his advantage and kicked the god in the back of his ribs three times before Beerus responded. He broke the wrist lock with a full body spin and drove both feet into Goku's chest, kicking himself away and opening up the distance between them. For the first time, it looked like Goku had really touched a nerve in Beerus. The god snarled viciously and massaged his ribs, glaring daggers at the Saiyan.

"It seems I may have underestimated your skills in hand to hand combat, Saiyan. Let's change it up. Think you can handle the raw power of a destroyer god, Goku?" asked Beerus in low, dangerous tones. Goku just glared back at him challengingly, to which Beerus narrowed his eyes, "Fine, we'll play it the hard way. See what you can do with this!" He suddenly straightened out and held his hands out at his sides, palm up. In each one formed the same peculiar molecule shaped blast that he had used before. Goku wasn't sure what he felt in those two blasts, but he could sense the power within each one, even though neither of the blasts felt normal at all. He couldn't put a number to it, but each one of the diminutive blasts rivaled roughly the same destructive power as one of Gohan's full power Masenkos, or even as strong as a super Kamehameha or final flash, and more than capable of destroying a small planet. Realizing the dire situation he'd just found himself in, he gathered his new godly ki and prepared himself. Beerus wound up and chucked both of the blasts down towards him, but Goku was ready. He sent out small, but powerful blasts from the palms of his hands to intercept the ones released by Beerus, and felt a small sense of satisfaction as the two of them detonated with a colossal explosion that rattled his bones.

"Very impressive, Saiyan… NOW TRY THIS!" roared Beerus as the smoke from the blasts cleared. He held his hands out at his sides and created dozens of the little blasts, all of them surrounding him in the air. Beerus stared harshly at Goku and started throwing his hands back and forth, as if he were throwing a ball with each movement. Each time his hands came forward, another one of the little molecule shaped blasts shot towards Goku.

Goku felt his heart jump in his throat and glanced down towards the planet, knowing that he might not be able to stop them all. Making up his mind, he gathered his ki and sent a series of blasts to catch the first dozen molecules while simultaneously shooting upwards into the sky. He smiled in satisfaction when he saw the blasts continue to follow him up, instead of continuing towards the planet. Glad that he'd at least removed the planet from the backdrop, he got back to work trying to avoid or stop the little blasts. Golden beams shot from his palms as he tried to catch them all, his eyes darting back and forth rapidly as explosions rent the sky in two.

Goku felt himself surprised to find that he'd destroyed them all. He peered through the smoke and the haze surrounding him for hundreds of feet to try and catch a glimpse of any other blasts that he might have missed, but none came. He clenched his fists and grinned, excitement bubbling up in him at his accomplishment. But it all ended a moment later.

"Pay attention." droned Beerus, and Goku was startled to hear him speak from right behind him. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see the god place his palm against his back, and a feeling of dread welled up in his gut. A light shone briefly from where Beerus' hand was pressed against him, and then an intense pain erupted from that spot, and Goku was sent hurtling away.

Goku lost count of the number of times Beerus had repeated that attack. Each time that explosion sent him hurtling away, he'd be caught by another one. Every time, he felt like he was about to get his body and momentum under control, only to be suddenly sent flying again. He'd lost count of how many times it had happened so far. A dozen, perhaps? Then he felt the cold fingers of the god close around the front of his face, and he cracked his eyes to see his scowling cat face from between his digits.

"You're boring me now, Goku…" said Beerus warningly. Then the same light erupted in front of Goku's eyes, and he clenched them shut against the pain he knew was about to come. He screamed as the explosion threw his head backwards, and he felt the sickening sensation of blood streaming down the front of his face as his nose broke. He felt his temper flare, and for the first time since Beerus had started this chain of attacks, he managed to right himself and fix his stare on the god. He wiped the blood from beneath his nose, leaving a red streak across his cheek in a grim imitation of war-paint, and snarled viciously. He gathered all the ki he could muster and held his hands back at his sides, palm to palm.

"Fine, Beerus. You've shown me yours, now here's mine! Kameeee…" The ki he'd gathered formed a pinprick of light in between his palms, and Beerus' ears perked up as his eyes narrowed in on it. "Hameeeeee…" The ball exploded in size, expanding from the tiny pinpoint of light into a basketball sized ball that blotted out the natural light with it's intense blue glow. Beerus seemed to recoil in surprise, and tensed nervously as he realized what was going into the attack. Goku felt his arms quake with the amount of ki being contained between his hands, and thrust them forward, "HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Kamehameha erupted from his palms, blotting out the sky and forcing Goku backwards with the recoil from it. It was so intense that Goku couldn't see where he was pointing it anymore, but felt it hit it's target a moment later. Beerus had been hit! Now all he had to do was maintain it. He clenched his teeth, which were rattling due to how hard he was shaking, and doubled down with his ki. He focused in to try and peer through the intense light, but had to rely on his feelings instead.

A few seconds passed with Goku struggling to maintain the incredible power going into the Kamehameha, and then it detonated. They were high enough in the atmosphere that the planet was spared from the mighty destructive power of it. But down below, Goku noticed a few volcanos in the distance suddenly rupture and spew out their pyroclastic fluid in massive spouts. It seemed the shockwave had hit the planet hard enough to shift the surface, forcing some of the planet's mantle outwards. But Goku didn't watch for long, his eyes darted back up to the core of the explosion, and started searching for Beerus. He knew the god hadn't been bested by that blast, even if it was ridiculously powerful. His ki still shone in Goku's mind like a torch, but he couldn't tell where the destroyer was.

"Is that your best?" came the voice of the god, coming through the cloud clearly, as if he were standing right next to Goku. He spun his head around, searching for the source. But through all the smoke, there was no sign. Goku felt something in his gut tell him that he was in danger, and he threw his ki downwards, launching himself even higher into the sky. Sure enough, a blast split the air where he had been standing moments before, and Goku felt his gi pants flap in the wind generated by the force of the passing energy.

"I admit, I am disappointed in you Goku. While you're an extremely talented fighter, you're still just a minor annoyance to me. I thought you would provide me with much more of a challenge than this. There's no fun left in you." droned Beerus. A moment later, the smoke cleared more, and Goku cold see him. He merely floated in the air, right where he had been when Goku's Kamehameha had struck. But aside from looking slightly ruffled, and the steam rising from his waxy looking violet skin, there was no evidence that the blast had done anything. Goku gritted his teeth and felt despair flood him. Even with as much of a power boost as he had received from becoming a god, it wasn't enough to even break the surface.

In that moment of weakness, Beerus made his move. His eyes widened viciously, and a split second later, he had darted towards Goku. His fingers went rigid in a knife-hand, and he thrust it straight forward and into Goku's gut, just below the ribs. Goku couldn't muster a block, he couldn't even utter any words. He gasped in pain as the destroyer's hand plunged through fabric and flesh alike, finding its home in Goku's abdomen. Blood leaked out around Beerus' hand, and a metallic tang assaulted Goku's tongue as blood came bubbling up from his stomach. Goku grasped onto the god's wrist with shaky hands, looking down at the wound with wide eyes.

"Take solace, Saiyan. It took a god of destruction to end you." said Beerus with finality, and Goku stared into those cold golden eyes that were gazing upon him with several emotions. If anything, it seemed that Beerus was truly sad, or at the very least disappointed that things hadn't worked out the way he'd wanted. But Goku didn't utter a single word as the hand was pulled from his stomach. Dark red blood poured out of the wound, and Beerus wiped both sides of his hand on the remains of Goku's gi to clean it. Goku felt himself grow faint, and started falling back to the planet below.

 _I lost_ , he thought bitterly. _I lost, even with the might of the entire Saiyan race inside me, I couldn't defeat him. But why? Why did this happen? What was the point of it all? What will happen now? Was it enough, did I give him enough to stay his hand? To save everyone?_ He pondered these things as he fell, blackness threatening to swallow him, closing in from all sides as Beerus grew smaller and smaller in his vision. It dawned on Goku that he had no clue if he had actually done enough. He didn't know if they would be safe now. Somewhere in his mind, he knew what all this meant. His failure meant their death. In his mind's eye, he could see the faces of the Saiyans he'd met, his mother and father, Vegeta, his children. He saw the faces of all the friends and family he'd made in his time on Earth. He replayed in rapid succession, all of the life-changing fights that he'd bled and sweat through. It all ended here, falling from the upper atmosphere of a planet that was likely doomed to destruction now.

As he thought of it all ending, all of them dying because he couldn't stop the destroyer god, something different in his gut stirred. It raised its head and roared, blotting out the despair that had settled in, and the calm acceptance of his failure. It was rage and desperation. It was the need to win, the absolute refusal to give up. Goku's senses snapped back into sharpness, and he caught himself with his ki. He could feel the blood still falling from the wound to his gut, but he no longer cared. His red aura flared up around him, brighter than ever before, and he fixed his eyes on the small figure of Beerus in the distance.

"NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE THEM FROM ME!" he bellowed, spittle and blood flying from his mouth in equal portions. Disregarding his wound, Goku clenched his fists and roared to the heavens as he sent himself hurtling up at Beerus again. Beerus' eyes widened in shock as the Saiyan came rising to meet him, one fist retracted and a feral snarl on his face.

"HOW DARE YOU GET BACK UP AFTER THAT! THAT WAS A PERFECT WAY TO GO OUT! I DID THE SPEECH AND EVERYTHING! AND YOU JUST GO AND RUIN IT!" yelled the god irritably. But Goku didn't care. He closed the distance so fast that Beerus didn't get his guard up in time. His retracted fist shot forward to find its mark, right in the center of Beerus' chest. The ki infused fist hit the god so hard that for the first time, something gave. Were it any other being Goku had struck, the punch would have made a hole clean through. But as it was, Goku had to be satisfied with the feeling of incredibly dense bone and muscle giving way to the force of the blow, and the sickening crunch of bones breaking and grinding together.

Beerus grunted in pain and was sent hurtling away, completely out of control. Goku growled in satisfaction and went after him. But just as he was about to close the distance, he felt a peculiar tingling sensation, and realized that the burst of adrenaline that had spurred him on had suddenly just ceased, leaving him aching and tired. The loss of speed was enough for Beerus to get some space and recover. The god stared down at him with wild eyes and threw his hands above his head. A massive orange ball of ki, much like a star, grew from the palms of his hands. Goku halted himself, realizing that he was directly between the giant blast and the planet below. Beerus screamed and threw the giant ball, and Goku was nearly blinded by the intense light that was now bearing down on him.

"No!" he gritted out, frustrated that once again it seemed it was going to be a choice of surviving, or saving everyone. But there was no question in his mind of what his action should be. He gathered what strength he had left, and met the blast head-on. His outstretched hands made contact, and immediately started burning under the intense heat of it. But he ignored the pain, pushing back on it with all of his might. It was pressing him further and further into the atmosphere of the planet, forcing him down. But he refused to give up. He fought, and fought. Just when it seemed that his body was going to finally give out, another peculiar sensation in his gut stirred, and he felt his ki change once more. Before he could understand exactly what it was he was doing, he felt the energy inside the blast flowing into him through his outstretched hands, much like the energy drain that Androids 19 and 20 had used. It gathered in his core and simply dispersed into nothingness without any provocation or direction from him. The energy cycled like this through him, shrinking the blast until it had all but disappeared.

The heavy silence that followed was broken only by the worn and ragged breathing of both Beerus and Goku as they stared each other down, each nursing their wounds. Both were bleeding from the mouth, and Goku was practically holding the skin together at his stomach with one of his hands and sagging at the shoulders as exhaustion set in.

"How… Did you do that?" asked Beerus a moment later, his breathing being restricted by the broken ribs he was tenderly holding, giving Goku a perplexed look.

Goku couldn't help but chuckle as his vision started to swim, "To be honest, I don't know."

Beerus stared at him incredulously for a moment. The silence was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Suddenly the god chuckled, wincing in pain as the spasm shook his aching chest, and wiped the dark blood from his mouth with a smirk, "You really are something else, you know that? I can't even say I'm mad at you for ruining that whole death-speech thing I gave you anymore! I don't know if you noticed, but you lost your god status a short while ago! Right in the middle of our fight!"

Goku recoiled in shock and looked down at his hands. While they were red from his own blood, they weren't shining with that same red glow as before. As well as that, he noticed that his body had filled back out. He pulled a lock of his hair down for him to see, and realized that it was black once more.

"Even though you'd lost it, somehow you managed to muster up enough strength to halt my blast. Even before that, I could sense it falling away from you, and you still managed to do this," continued Beerus, indicating towards his chest, which was starting to turn a nasty shade of black, "I never thought that I would be so wounded by a mortal, much less a Saiyan. It would seem that I have once again misjudged you."

Goku gave the god a weak smile and scratched at his cheek as his limbs started growing numb, "You're not the first one to do so. That's how I beat Frieza. He didn't think I had the strength in me either."

"Indeed?" said Beerus curiously, but then he shook his head and said, "Regardless, you have a lot of potential, and a natural talent for fighting that may even rival my own, given enough time. But you still didn't live up to my expectations as a god."

Goku felt his heart sink, but set his jaw and nodded, "Yeah. I don't have anything left in me after that blast you made. I'm having a hard time just keeping myself up here now. You don't need to mince words, Lord Beerus. I know what happens next."

"Right," said Beerus with a neutral expression. He floated towards Goku, and reached out one of his hands. Goku winced in anticipation, but no blows came. Beerus' hand rested on Goku's shoulder, near the neck, and paused. Goku looked down at it and then back up at Beerus, who gave him a quick smile, then slapped his hand down on that spot. Unconsciousness took Goku into it's black nothingness as the blood was cut off from his brain in that single instance, and he began falling once again.

* * *

"They're coming back down, get ready!" yelled Vegeta, staring up into the sky. Gohan and Bardock stared up as well, with the other Saiyans standing around them, looking at the three of them in confusion. They'd traveled at least a couple hundred miles away from the Saiyan settlement and the fortress, and were currently on a plateau amidst a large mountain range. In the distance, a couple volcanos could be seen erupting, a result of the colossal battle that had been taking place far above them all.

Gohan had caught up with the group fairly quick, though his senses were oddly clouded and murky after recovering from whatever it was Beerus had done to him. Shortly after catching up, both he and Vegeta had felt Goku's ki suddenly come back, and then plummet. They had waited with bated breath as what appeared to be a new star had suddenly appeared in the sky above them, and Goku's ki went wild. There was no real way to describe what they were sensing, all Gohan knew was that it was something incredible. But being out of visual range, and too wary of the fight to get any closer to it, they could only watch and wait as the events played out like a particularly rough roller-coaster. But now, it seemed to be over.

"I can't tell what's going on… Dad's ki is so weak now, does that mean it's over?" asked Gohan anxiously, but Vegeta merely grunted in response, not even sparing him a glance. At his side Bardock crossed his arms and rolled his head, cracking his neck with a grimace and holding his silence.

"Hey, Gohan!" came a child's yell from behind him, and he spun, just in time to see the demon trio rushing towards him, with a exasperated looking Gine and Tora close behind. Apparently, the three children had broken away from the adults, in spite of their efforts. Above and behind them floated Whis, who looked like he could be out for a stroll at the park with his serene expression and calm smile. The strange being looked up towards the sky, and Gohan swore he saw him roll his eyes in amusement. Tracing the being's gaze, he squinted up at the sky and waited. Vegeta was the first to spot them, and yelled, "Get out of the way!"

The other Saiyans quickly leapt aside, and Vegeta jumped into the air just as Gohan finally managed to spot his father's falling form. He felt his stomach churn when he saw Goku tumble, and realized that his father was unconscious, his ki wavering weakly.

"Dad!" yelled his little sister frantically when she saw this, and Goten attempted to take to the air without a second thought, eager to catch him. But Bardock caught the small demi with a strained grunt before he could make it more than a few feet.

"Keep them here! I'm not sure I want them to see this." called Gohan over his shoulder as he took chase, following Vegeta up towards the falling form. He saw the prince reach out and catch Goku with a heavy "oof", falling a fair distance with the momentum before finally halting some fifty feet in the air. Gohan caught up with him as he was righting the unconscious Saiyan in his arms so that they could get a good look at him.

The damage made Gohan cringe in imaginative pain, followed by a deeply seated rage that clashed with his fear of the destroyer god. Between the obviously broken nose, the gaping wound in his gut, the copious amounts of blood that was spattered across him, and the severe burns that covered his exposed and pale skin, it was a wonder that Goku was alive at all.

"Son of a bitch…" muttered Vegeta, who was staring at Goku with barely contained awe etched across his face. Though Gohan wasn't sure if he was in awe of the wounds or the fact that the younger Saiyan was still breathing at all.

"He fought well, Vegeta. You should be proud of your little warrior," came the voice of Beerus from above them, and they turned their eyes up to watch him descend upon them. "There aren't many beings, gods or otherwise, who can say that they got the better of me in a fight. And yet, here I am with this nasty discoloration, with a few very painful ribs to boot. And I can still taste blood on my tongue."

Gohan warily eyed the god as he came level with them, his jaw set firmly and hate burning in his gut, and realized that he had spoken true. There was a nasty looking black bruise over the center of his chest, and by the sound of the god's breathing, more than a couple broken ribs to accompany it. The thought brought a grim sort of satisfaction to Gohan.

"Ah, he _did_ manage to hurt you then?" asked Whis as he floated up to meet them. "My, Lord Beerus, you must be getting slow in your old age! That looks painful!" he said jovially, a hint of laughter coloring his words.

"You just had to point out my age, didn't you?" growled Beerus irritably, narrowing his eyes at Whis. A moment's pause ushered in a thick silence where neither of the Saiyans dared to interrupt them. Then Beerus sighed, wincing as the movement reminded him that his chest was aching, "You know Whis, were it not for the fact that I still have things you need to teach me, you'd have been destroyed long ago."

Whis rolled his eyes and tutted the god, "Now, now, Lord. You know I only tease you because you make it so easy, and besides, what would you do without me there? It'd be dreadfully boring with only the oracle fish to keep you company." Beerus grumbled but didn't directly respond, holding his side and looking away from the tall blue being. Whis leaned over and inspected Goku with a critical eye before happily stating, "And yet, it seems he took much worse than he gave! Still, it shouldn't be too much of an issue! I believe that your Earth's guardian has the ability to heal wounds such as these?" He directed his gaze towards Vegeta, who stiffened and gulped, but nodded in affirmation. The blue man straightened himself and peered down at the gathered crowd below, "Well, I suppose that we ought to go see this guardian, shouldn't we, Lord? What would you like to do?"

The god's ears perked up and he considered Whis out of the corner of his eye. They held that stare for a moment before Beerus turned his head and stared directly at Gohan. "You know, the bet I made with Goku was for his planet's existence … But, seeing how I've seen this planet destroyed once today, I think I may let that pass."

Gohan felt a peculiar sensation of excited glee and guilt flood him at the same time. He knew that Beerus was referring to the rampage he must have gone on before the do-over. While he knew that there was nothing he could have realistically done about it, it still filled him with anger that the god had somehow made him transform and turn against his own people. And yet, at the same time, he felt hope fill him as he gazed upon him, and it showed in his voice, "You mean... you're not going to destroy Vegeta? Or Earth?!"

The god hesitated, before a small smirk pointed the corners of his mouth up. "I never said I was going to spare the Earth…"

Both Gohan and Vegeta gulped, staring at him with wide eyes and mentally preparing to renew their desperate assault on the god. Whis chuckled and rolled his eyes in amusement, "Is it really necessary to torment them like that, lord? They did give you what you came for, after all."

Beerus gave him a disapproving look before shrugging and sighing, wincing once more as the pain from his ribs jolted him, "Fine, Whis, since you want to take all the fun out of it… I'll spare the Earth on two conditions, Saiyans." He paused, and the two of them stared at him intently, neither one wishing to restart the fight. "First, when we get back, I want that guardian to take care of my wound as well. I hate long recovery times..." Gohan nodded stiffly, just glad that it seemed they were in the clear now. Beerus closed his eyes and turned his nose up at them, stating in a ravenous tone, "And second, I want a full course of that delicious food your people make!"

Gohan and Vegeta gaped at him, then looked at each other, lost for words.

 **BACK ON EARTH**

Videl was pacing back and forth anxiously, the tension in her chest threatening to explode with each passing moment. She paused in her mindless wandering and glanced over at the people remaining on the ship, which was currently headed back to port at flank speed. Of the Z-fighters, Piccolo, Yamcha, Krillin, 18, Chiaotzu, and Tien all remained, along with all of their respective families and common cohorts. All of them were doing what they could to try and keep the tension down on the ship. Chi Chi was raving, and Bulma looked sick, having to be fanned by Tights as she gulped down on a jug of water through a straw.

Not that Videl could blame her, she'd already had a nervous episode shortly after the Saiyans had all been taken that resulted in a severe case of nausea. The taste of bile still lingered on her tongue. She gritted her teeth in frustration and continued her pacing.

"You'd better sit down, girl. You're going to do nobody any good, stomping around like that!" chastised Erasa from a nearby chair. Videl could hear the worry in her voice, carefully hidden behind her stern tone, but knew that she was probably right. Still, she sent her a quick glare.

"I am not _stomping_ , Erasa. I'm pacing, and if I don't, I'm liable to break something!" she said in bitter anger.

"Well, don't go doing that either… just… sit down?" pleaded Erasa, gentler this time.

Videl considered her with a critical eye for a moment before relenting and joining her blonde friend. Together they watched Lime and Sharpener as they played with Uub and Marron to keep them distracted from the tension aboard the ship. After the Saiyans had all disappeared, Uub had gone right back to his usual childish wonder and explorative nature. He babbled at Sharpener, forming few coherent sentences the blonde could understand, with Marron interpreting it and translating every once in a while. Had it been any other time, Videl would have laughed at the perplexed expression on Sharpener's face as he attempted to understand what the toddler was trying to tell him.

"He's gonna be okay, you know that." Said Erasa suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled upon them. Videl jumped a little and looked over at her. The blonde was gazing at her intently, those icy blue eyes firm and assured.

"I… Don't know that," admitted Videl honestly, her words darkened by the pit that had been dug in her gut. She wanted to agree with Erasa, but this time, things were different. "I don't want to admit it Erasa, but this time he's going up against a god… I mean, a _literal_ god! The guys couldn't even slow him down when he was here. I can't help this feeling-"

"No! You can't be giving up on him now Videl! You just can't! Not with everything you two have been through, especially now that-" began Erasa loudly, but Videl quickly jumped up and clamped a hand over her mouth, looking around rapidly to make sure nobody else was listening in.

"SHHH! Damn Erasa, you trying to give it away?!" Videl said harshly under her breath, so that only they could hear. The blonde's eyes widened, and she nodded vigorously while saying something that sounded like an apology from beneath her best friend's hands. Videl sighed and plopped back down on the chair, feeling a bit dizzy from suddenly getting up so quickly. She heavily set her head in her hands and clenched her eyes as another wave of nausea washed over her.

"God, I hate this, feeling so sick…" she muttered, her voice thick with emotion.

Erasa patted her back consolingly, but didn't say anything in response. Across the ship, something started happening. Piccolo, who had taken up a post above the others atop the bridge of the ship, suddenly floated down to land heavily in front of Krillin and Yamcha. They fell into a hushed conversation, and Yamcha nodded, looking up into the sky. Videl traced his gaze, but didn't see anything in the direction he was looking. She realized that they must be sensing something, and reached out with her ki, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Videl? What are you-" began Erasa, but Videl shushed her and continued concentrating. Moments later, she found what she was looking for. Gohan's ki rushed into her senses, and she felt her heart soar with elation. She'd dared to hope, to believe that he'd come back just fine, but the seed of doubt that had been planted by Beerus' arrival had taken a stronger hold than she was willing to admit. Now that she could feel him again, it was like the weight of the world was suddenly lifted from her shoulders.

As well as her husband's ki, she could feel the ki of the others. Vegeta was back, as was Bardock, and she thought she could feel the demon trio and Gine, though she wasn't quite good enough at sensing yet to be certain. But she couldn't feel Goku's, and felt a pang of worry for her father in law. One glance at the others confirmed that she had felt correctly, as Krillin was eyeing Chi-Chi nervously.

"Something's not right," said Videl quietly, and Erasa stared at her incredulously.

"What? Are you doing that energy sense thing that Gohan was teaching you?" asked the blonde with an anxious look.

Videl nodded, and looked back up towards the direction of the lookout. "I can feel Gohan and Vegeta are back, along with the others… But I can't feel Goku up there."

Erasa paled and stared incredulously at her, realizing the implication of that statement and fearing the worst.

 **ON THE LOOKOUT**

The Earth's Saiyans, plus Beerus and Whis, all lightly landed on their feet atop the lookout's perfect white tiles. Gohan hefted his father's form with one arm draped over his shoulder and his feet dragging, and looked around at their surroundings. First, he made sure that everyone who was supposed to come back did, and did a head count. All three children were there, plus his grandparents, his father, and Vegeta. Nodding quickly, he searched for the little guardian of Earth, who's ki he could vaguely feel somewhere on the lookout with them.

"Well, this is unexpected. Young Gohan, what might be the purpose of your visit?" came the familiar neutral voice of Mr. Popo from behind them. Gohan turned his gaze towards him, realizing that the genie must have been watering some of the flowers just out of sight. He didn't need to say anything as the short black man spotted Goku's unconscious form, still covered in blood, and a rather irate looking Beerus. Popo perked upright and sent the god a quick courteous bow, "Oh my! I never expected to see you here, Lord Beerus! We saw your arrival on Earth, but… Wait just one moment, I'll retrieve the guardian! He's currently tending to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

With that, he jogged into the dark doorway and into the depths of the lookout, with the Saiyans watching his retreating back. Taking a deep breath, Gohan coughed lightly and gently laid his father out at his feet. He quickly checked his pulse, and content that it was still normal and fairly strong, let out an exhausted sigh. Beerus stood a short distance away, watching him with narrowed eyes. After a moment of waiting, Beerus seemed to have his curiosity peaked, and turned his head towards Vegeta, "Vegeta, I've been meaning to ask… Isn't it uncommon for Saiyans to breed outside of their own race? I remember your father saying something about pure bloodlines or something? Yet, here stands an adult half-breed who's power rivals a full blooded Saiyan of over twice his age. When did that change?"

"The brat?" asked Vegeta, considering Beerus' question with a furrowed brow, "He was the first of his kind. You're right, most Saiyan hybrids rarely made it past the infant stage without some serious health problems… I never met any personally, but my father is very familiar with this, considering he had to subject so many of our people to genetic testing for Cold's experiments… Just one of the many injustices that I wish vengeance on King Cold and his entire line for…" He trailed off there, his voice growing cold and vicious. Beerus watched him with an intrigued eye, and Gohan saw him send a significant glance towards his attendant. Vegeta continued, shaking his head and returning to the topic at hand, "There's something about humans that seems to work with Saiyan DNA, something which my wife has been searching for an answer to. She seems to think that Saiyans and Humans have a linked past that would explain our compatibility."

But Gohan was staring at Vegeta with a dumbfounded expression as the full implications of what the prince had said dawned on him, and he began piecing that part of Saiyan society together. "They made Saiyans breed as experiments?" he asked incredulously. Vegeta only stared back at him, his expression unreadable and stern. Taking his silence as confirmation, Gohan felt his gut boil in anger. _Fuck! No wonder the Saiyans rarely made life-long attachments like my grandparents. They couldn't afford to if they were being used as sex slaves to try and spawn some sort of super-warrior! I don't even need to ask, I already know what happened when those tests failed_ , he thought grimly. He swallowed past the angry welt in his throat and shook his head with a grimace, "Too bad the Cold empire is gone already… I'd tell you to make that whole vengeance thing a serious offer. Hell, I'd help you out."

The three children stared up at him in confusion and fear, his voice sounding much darker than he normally got around them. Bardock and Gine both looked at each other with a knowing expression, and Vegeta grunted in acknowledgement. Gohan had grown accustomed to his non-verbal responses, and understood this one as something akin to thanks.

Whis cleared his throat and held up a finger, attracting the attention of all of the Saiyans there, "Well, actually, It may come as a surprise to you, but the Cold Empire and the planet trade organization both still exist." All of the adult Saiyans had to do a double take, staring at Whis incredulously. The thin blue man sighed and sat himself on his staff, which was now floating in the air above the platform. "Yes, I thought that might catch your attention. Though Frieza and his father were killed almost… oh what was it… fourteen years ago now? I believe even Cooler met his demise here around the same time? Anyways, the cold empire persisted, though it's grasp on the galaxy has lessened greatly in the following years. Without the threat of the cold tyrants coming down on them, many of the subjugated planets saw their chance and separated from the empire. There's still a large force waging war all across the galaxy, struggling to maintain some sort of hold."

Vegeta furrowed his brow and stared thoughtfully at the ground, but Dende and Mr. Popo arrived at exactly that moment, before anyone else could voice their opinion on the matter. Dende, upon seeing who was atop his lookout, broke out into a nervous sweat and sent a quick acknowledging nod towards Gohan and the others before turning towards Beerus. "Lord Beerus! I saw that you had arrived on my planet, what do I –" he began, but Beerus cut him off with an exasperated wave, "Enough! My, all you people and your eloquent speeches… Look guardian, tend to Goku's wounds, then I would have you do what you can for mine and the others who need it."

Dende seemed lost for words, and worked his jaw for a second as if he was about to say something. Thinking better of it, he nodded and quickly began his work on Goku, who Gohan had laid out on his back. First thing to happen was the hole in his gut wove back together, muscle and skin intertwining and meshing until there was no evidence that he had been struck a severe blow at all. Gohan watched him work, once again marveling at how quickly the Guardian had been learning and growing. Had this happened a couple years ago, he would have struggled to repair all the damage that had been done to Goku in one pass, much less tend to Lord Beerus' wounds as well. But now, he could do it quite easily, with energy to spare. Goku's ki spiked and started fluctuating like normal, and his breathing evened out. Though he was still covered in his own blood and ragged clothing that barely hung on his bulky frame, he was healed completely. Satisfied that he was done, Dende signaled to Popo, who had retrieved a towel, and started mopping up the blood from Goku's body.

"My, that _is_ an impressive ability! Lord Beerus, should I perhaps learn how to do that as well? I've never even considered the possibility of learning how to do that, but look at it! I mean, it's one thing to be able to simply whisk away all the mess and replace clothing, but to actually heal a wound so severe?" asked Whis inquisitively.

Beerus gave him a skeptical eye and deadpanned, "You want to learn how to heal, like a Kai? In what instance is that going to be useful for you? I don't leave survivors when I decide a planet needs to be destroyed, and you know better than to try and save any of them in the first place."

Gohan could have laughed at the stunned look Whis gave him. But the tall blue being recovered quickly and gave the god a sly look, "Well, if you're planning what I think you're planning, Lord, then it may come in use sooner rather than later."

"Oh? And what, dear teacher, do you suppose I am planning?" asked Beerus, a hint of laughter coloring his words.

"What?! Teacher?" burst out Vegeta suddenly, looking between Beerus and Whis with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me that he's your teacher?"

Both Beerus and Whis blinked in surprise and stared at Vegeta with blank expressions. Beerus twitched his nose irritably and Whis gave the god a slightly hurt look, "What? You didn't tell them?" The god merely grunted and scratched at one of his ears. Whis huffed and puffed his chest out indignantly, "Yes, I am. As well as being Lord Beerus' attendant, I am his instructor in martial arts."

None of them knew what to say to that. Gohan was gaping at the tall blue man, having never considered him to be anything more than a simple butler. He'd assumed that, like the supreme Kais, Whis was a god in training, the replacement for Beerus when he finally expired. He'd never thought it would be the other way around.

Dende cleared his throat anxiously and caught their attention. Beerus gave him a stern look before realizing that he still had his arms crossed in front of his chest, covering the bruise. He dropped his arms to his sides as Dende began inspecting the wound, and stared at Vegeta over the little guardian's head. "Yes, he's my teacher Vegeta, no need to make a big deal out of it. Would it also surprise you to know I had a pet fish?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well, I don't know if you could call the Oracle a 'pet' per-se…" trailed off Whis, rolling his eyes in amusement.

"Oh, shut it, you." snapped Beerus in response, silencing him before returning his eyes once again to Vegeta's. "But back to topic. The Cold empire is still there, still wreaking havoc wherever they are, even without the formidable power of Frieza, Cooler, and Cold manning the helm. This fight with Goku gave me an idea. What if I were to make you an offer to train with Whis and myself?" he asked in a curious tone, his eyes narrowed as he watched them for a response.

Gohan blinked in surprise and looked over towards Vegeta and Bardock, both of whom were staring back at the god with dumbfounded expressions. Vegeta was the first one to recover, and asked, "But, what's the catch? I feel like there's a very large 'if' attached to that offer."

"Very perceptive Vegeta," droned Beerus with barely concealed sarcasm, "yes, there are terms to my offer. I'm willing to have you trained to your heart's content, but there's something I'd like in return. See, I don't have the patience or the desire to do anything about the Cold empire like you do, but I do love me a good show, like the one Goku gave me today. You've got the combined might of the entire Saiyan race that can follow you now, direct them to bring down the planet trade, and the Empire."

Bardock considered his words, rubbing his chin in thought, "Taking it down, huh? I can't say that sounds like a bad idea. Eventually, they'll find out that planet Vegeta is back, and they'll come for us. We may want to take the fight to them before they find out we're here." He directed his gaze towards Vegeta, who nodded in affirmation before returning his eyes to Beerus.

"You just want the Saiyans to take on the Cold empire, and you'll train us? Who specifically?" asked the prince, his words cautious.

Beerus gave him a confident smile and crossed his arms as Dende took a step back, his work done and a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. "You three. Goku, his son, and you. Though, it's up to you really, the training involved is not for the weak hearted. When you find out what it is, you may grow a bit…" he trailed off, narrowing his eyes with a smirk as he searched for the word, "hesitant."

In the moment of silence that followed, Goku stirred and groaned, "hnnnn. Nna Ch-Chi aah cn et nnn mrrrr…" All of the Saiyans stared at his unconscious form, sprawled out on the ground. It didn't take any of them long to realize what he was dreaming about, and Vegeta rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Ugh… brought to the brink of death, and even when he's unconscious, all he can think about is food." Growled Vegeta with a lopsided half-smile.

"Speaking of food… That's the other part of my deal." said Beerus expectantly, giving the prince a stern stare. Gohan looked down at his father's still-unconscious form and cleared his throat, saying, "Uh, first, can we get him cleaned up? I don't think it'll help mom and the others to see him like this… matter of fact, the kids _shouldn't_ have seen it either."

Whis made a small surprised noise, like he'd suddenly remembered something important that he'd forgotten to do, and waved his staff through the air in a downward motion. A ring of light appeared over Goku, and as it passed across his body, the blood and torn up clothing were, as Whis had said earlier, "whisked away" and replaced by a clean version of his normal gi. The tall being turned his eyes towards Gohan, who was still wearing a set of Saiyan armor, and said, "Well, while I'm at it…" He waved the staff once more, and the ring appeared over Gohan's head. It passed across him, and his armor was quickly replaced by an almost identical orange gi to the one his father was wearing, sans turtle emblem. "You did lose your clothing when you were forced to transform, I think that uniform suits you a little better than that armor," said Whis. Gohan tugged on it a little, inspecting the material with a small smile on his face. While it was similar to his fathers' in appearance, the material was unlike anything he'd ever worn before. It was light like his old body-suit pre-Cell had been, but stiff and tough to the touch as his usual dark blue gi.

He nodded in thanks and said, "Well, we'd better not keep the others waiting anymore." He reached down and hefted his father up to lay across his shoulders, mumbling in his sleep still. "Ungh… I've been wanting to try this out for a while now. All of you, grab on, okay?"

Within seconds, the only ones who weren't linked to Gohan somehow were Vegeta, Beerus, and Whis. Both the god and his attendant looked upon Gohan with skepticism, but Vegeta grumbled something about "having to touch" any of them and "hating to travel that way". Gohan used his free hand to press his first two fingers to his forehead, the way his father had taught him over the last year, and gave the god a knowing sort of look. Seeming to realize what he was doing, Beerus shrugged and placed a hand on his father's back, with Whis standing right behind him. A moment later, Gine had made an exasperated sort of sound and grasped Vegeta by the back of his armor irritably, and Gohan attempted his first multi-person instant transmission. They disappeared from the surface of the lookout, leaving Popo and Dende to stare after them, breathing out their relief that the Earth had escaped the wrath of the god of destruction.

* * *

 **Aaaaand break! I know, not the best place to put a pause on things, but I had to do it sooner rather than later, because if I didn't, this would have come out at 15-16K words. So there's a few hints as to how things are going to progress, but keep in mind that nothing is concrete in this story yet. I won't take nearly as long to get the next chapter up either. We're going to revisit a topic that I kinda just dropped early on, and usher in a new filler arc that isn't "dorky ass cat people that can't fucking handle a god damned dog" silly randomness.**

 **One last thing I want to address, Whis' abilities. Now, keep in mind that I haven't watched past Hit yet in Super. I'm aware there was a moment prior to the tournament where Whis just waves his staff and both Goku and Vegeta are completely refreshed. But, if you read WSHB, then you know how I work. There is absolutely no realistic reason for Whis to even be able to heal, considering his whole life revolves around Beerus, who does not leave survivors for him to heal/save. Additionally, I feel like it gives Whis a different dimension than "I eat food and know things". Give him an inquisitive mind or something, I dunno.**

 **Anyways, I will see you all next time. As always, have a good day!**


	10. The Home Front

**Howdy folks! I know, I'm way later than I said I would be in my little update chapter. I won't even try to make excuses for why it took me so long, and I'm not sure an apology would actually make it better. Suffice to say that I got burned out, and lost all interest in writing for a while. But I'm back, and I'm looking to get back into the swing of things, and I've got a lot of ideas I want to implement into this one. So, let's get right back into things. I actually had this entire chapter written out, and suddenly realized that I was sitting on a single chapter with well over 18K words... So that needed some editing. I chopped a large chunk off of it and replaced it with a small preview into what I've got planned for the next few chapters, and viola! I've already got about 8K words ready for the next one, so expect it pretty soon. Anyways, enough of my dawdling, on to the story!**

 **Chapter 10: The Home Front**

Gohan blinked a few times in surprise and looked down, his hand still held up near his face with his first two fingers extended and his father laid across his shoulders. He'd successfully managed to use instant transmission with more than just himself, and they'd all come through without much trouble, but he'd missed his target just enough to set up for a comical moment at his own expense. He felt his eyes widen in a mild panic as the group of people dropped the last few feet to the deck of the ship. He yelped in surprise as one foot landed firmly on the deck, and the other plunged straight into the on-deck pool. Those on his right side, gods and Saiyans included, stood firmly and watched in some amusement as everyone on his left fell directly into the large pool. Gohan nearly caught himself, but with the extra weight across his shoulders, couldn't recover his balance quickly enough to prevent himself from toppling over sideways and spilling into the water with his father.

Gohan quickly righted himself in the water and made for the surface, noting that Goku had woken up once his head had submerged, and the two of them broke the surface at the same time. Gohan shook the water from his hair and looked around to find the demon trio scrambling to get out of the water, with Beerus, Whis, his grandparents, and Vegeta all watching with amusement.

"Gohaaaan!" whined Goten as he and Ria helped each other get out of the pool.

"What did you do that for?" barked Trunks over his shoulder.

Gohan waded water and turned his head to find Goku giving him a slightly amused look, knowing full well that the Saiyan knew exactly what had just happened, even though he had surely been unconscious up until hitting the water. He laughed nervously and scratched at his head, "Oops… Guess I need a little more practice, huh?"

A moment later and they were being helped from the pool by the crowd of people who had just witnessed them popping back into existence right in their midst. Gohan groaned and shook the water from his hair, shortly thanking Krillin and Yamcha before being hugged firmly by Videl. He attempted to protest due to his being soaked, but decided against it considering the desperation in the way she clung to him. He relented and hugged back, letting the calming warmth of her presence to sooth his anxiety after the events that had just transpired. He'd missed her, and it seemed she was even more affected by their brief absence.

"Now, on to the other part of our agreement, Saiyans" stated Beerus from somewhere off to his left, and Gohan was slightly surprised to hear he sounded quite jovial now. He wasn't sure if it was sincere, or the god was just playing a part for whatever purpose was fitting his needs at that point. Regardless, he heard Vegeta stammer something quickly and bark orders across the deck of the ship, but wasn't really paying attention as the deck of the ship came to life.

"You alright?" he asked quietly of his wife, who emerged from his damp chest to look up at him. She nodded but didn't respond verbally until she seemed to notice something and took a step back, quirking an eyebrow at his orange attire. "What happened to your clothes?" she asked incredulously before planting a fist on her hip, "Don't tell me that those pants dad bought you got torn up…"

Gohan bit on his lower lip and scratched at the back of his head with a sheepish look on his face, which prompted Yamcha to burst into laughter. Ignoring him, Gohan sighed and shook his head before leveling his gaze onto Beerus, who was being led towards a series of tables laden with new food after their brief fight on the ship. He nodded shortly towards him, drawing Videl's eyes towards him, and said quietly, "It's a long story actually, and one best suited for closed doors, I think."

She obviously understood the implication of his statement and didn't press the matter further, but he knew they'd be up talking about it for a long while. Far beyond him to try to keep anything from her, and with everything that had just transpired, he felt like he could use the pillow talk.

 ***A FEW HOURS LATER***

It seemed that things had all gone back to normal, and everyone had somehow forgotten that there was a pair of gods walking among the others as the cruise ship neared its harbor. Gohan couldn't understand how, but it was right there in front of him to witness. Even Beerus seemed to have lost all interest in trying to make sure that everyone _knew_ he was superior to them, so lost in the many forms of food was he. Had he not fought with the god earlier, Gohan would have just assumed him an old part of the crew with how he was behaving. He found it odd that the person Beerus found most interesting though, was the little cat creature called Puar. For Beerus, Puar was a complete anomaly, having never seen a cat that could float, talk, and shapeshift on any other planet, or even on Earth. But not everyone was so easily amused by the goings-on.

Actually, Gohan found it annoying that things seemed so _normal_. He'd died earlier that day, or so he'd heard. He was still a bit fuzzy on the details, but nobody seemed to want to talk about it. Even Goku, who had literally become a god for a short amount of time, didn't seem to want to discuss it. Though with the rapid pace with which his father was putting away food, he doubted the Saiyan would be able to speak much, even if he were so inclined. The only other people who seemed as uncertain and anxious as him were Piccolo and Vegeta. But then, he expected that.

A loud blaring of the ship's horn announced their arrival at port, and put a harsh damper on the festivities. Beerus' ears perked up and he sniffed the air once. With a twitch of his tail, he announced to his caretaker that it was time for them to leave. Sensing that if their conversation was going to happen, it would be now, Gohan picked himself up out of the chair he'd been haunting and made his way over to join his father and Vegeta. As they expected, Beerus had stood and faced them, and the air around the party suddenly seemed much more sullen than it had mere moments before.

"Well, I have to admit, I was greatly surprised by this planet and its inhabitants. No doubt, some of you have been wondering what is to be your fate? After all, I am a destroyer god, and I did come here with a purpose."

The air seemed to chill a little at his words, like all the others suddenly remembered the events that had transpired earlier. Some of them even looked around in surprise, like they were suddenly brought back from a dream, wondering what was going on. Gohan suspected there was more to their improved morale through the latter half of the party than mere enjoyment of he festivities. He cast a suspicious look up at Whis, who caught his gaze and raised his eyebrows nonchalantly at him as if to say, "Not a big deal."

Gohan exhaled sharply and shook his head before returning his eyes to Beerus, thinking, _No wonder… Some sort of godly power, I'm sure… Altering their perception or something… but why would he do that? Moreover, why wouldn't he do it to me too?_

"Well, rest assured, I have no intention of starting over with this world, especially with some of the delicacies I've sampled here. I've already seen one planet demolished today, and I think that will suffice for now." He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, and a collective breath of relief was released by the crowd. "However, there's one final item to discuss. Though it is between me and the Saiyans, I figured you all ought to be in on it as well, seeing how I couldn't keep it from you regardless. First…" he trailed off and looked over at Whis before nodding.

A flash of light burst from the orb on Whis' staff, traveling around the deck of the ship and striking each of the wait staff currently on deck. As the light passed through each person, they were all gently laid down, unconscious before they'd even fallen all the way. Ignoring the startled yelp from a couple of the Z-gang, he held his hands up and droned in what sounded like a wearily over-practiced voice, "Don't worry, they're fine. They will wake once we leave, with no memory of what happened to them. Now as I was saying, you three-" he looked directly at Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan in turn, "What I've got planned for you is not going to be easy on you. I'll give you a couple months to set things in motion with the Saiyans, then I will be sending Whis to collect you. And remember, I have no personal stake in this besides watching for my own amusement, and I don't appreciate being let down. Have your people handle this however you see fit, but make sure things are set in motion before you leave. You won't have a chance to alter the course once you're with me."

The mood on the deck changed once more to an even combination of foreboding and curiosity. Many looked to the three he'd addressed, but the Saiyans merely nodded their understanding in response. Beerus nodded with some finality and started to turn about, but caught sight of Videl once more and hesitated. He peered at her for a few seconds before planting his hands on his hips and turning back towards Gohan, fixing him under his stare. Gohan waited with bated breath. He wasn't sure he liked what the god was about to say. Had Videl overstepped her bounds earlier? Was there some sort of punishment due?

 _Not going to happen if I have anything to say about it,_ thought Gohan. He knew he was in no shape to take on the god, even when he was maxed out, but if Videl was about to be brought into it all…

"On the other hand, I just realized something that might affect your decision, half-breed. I assume that this young lady is yours?" He indicated towards Videl, who took a precautionary step back, her expression apprehensive. Gohan clamped his jaw shut hard to hold back the sharp statement he was about to say, and simply nodded, his eyes fixed firmly on those cold golden orbs. Beerus groaned and rubbed his forehead irritably, muttering under his breath, "Well, that's probably going to take him out of the picture… Still, the other two might be up for it."

Whis seemed to catch on to what Beerus was thinking and leaned on his staff thoughtfully, "Well, that may be true Lord, but given the circumstances, it's entirely possible that he may still choose to come with us when the time comes."

Beerus eyed him critically out of the corner of his eyes and scoffed, "Really? I thought that you were supposed to be the more empathetic of the two of us. Besides, he said it himself!" The god turned his eyes back onto Gohan, who was now thoroughly baffled. "He's got a family to protect. He may see it as his responsibility to stay back and handle his own domestic affairs instead."

Gohan blinked a few times in surprise, his expression mirroring those of many of the Z gang around him as they watched the interaction with bepuzzlement. Gohan looked towards Videl, who had turned slightly pale, staring at Beerus with a look of… Was it awe, or bewilderment? Gohan couldn't really place it.

Beerus sighed and groaned once before rolling his eyes and bluntly stating, "Well, it's obvious to me that you have no clue. I'm not sure how, seeing as she certainly knows. She's carrying a child, boy, and I can only assume it's yours."

Gohan's insides went numb, and he knew his jaw had just dropped. The silence that followed the god's statement was deafening. Gohan looked towards Videl, who was covering her mouth and staring at Gohan with something in her eyes that bordered on both hopeful apprehension and fear. He struggled to find his voice, "Y-You're p-pregnant?". The words rattled around in his head as he heard his own shaky voice, and he wasn't sure what emotion he was feeling. It felt like fear, the way his stomach had suddenly turned to lead, but at the same time, it felt like his heart was about to burst from his chest.

Videl sniffled and crossed her arms, looking skyward and biting her lip anxiously, refusing to look at him for a moment. She released a shaky breath and locked eyes with him before a small smile broke upon her lips and she nodded, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

 _I'm going to be a father?_

At first, it felt terrifying to think. There was so much that could go wrong, things that would come up, and so many dangers. But Gohan felt unsure of whether or not he really _was_ afraid any more.

 _I'm going to be a father._

This time, it felt slightly more confident, and the feeling of lead weighing down his feet started to fade. He took a step towards her.

 _I'm… I'm going to be a father!_

He wasn't sure why, he wasn't sure how it was even possible, but the feeling in his gut was far from fear, like he'd first thought. It wasn't even apprehensive. It was joy. Giddy excitement he hadn't really felt the likes of before in his life, not even at their marriage.

"I'm going to be a father." He heard the words come unbidden from his mouth as he walked towards her, his pace quickening by the moment. He could feel the grin spreading across his face, though he didn't remember telling it to do that. "I'm going to be a father!" he practically yelled finally, breaking into a run and scooping his wife up. Initially taken aback by his reaction, and obviously relieved that it hadn't been a negative one, Videl laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace.

Just like that, they were suddenly being barraged by so many excited squeals, congratulations, and all sorts of joyous shouts that Gohan couldn't have picked any of them out of the noise. But he didn't care at the moment. He kissed her, and put her back on the ground with a huge smile plastered on his face. Videl let out a sobbing sort of laugh as the tears were leaking from her eyes, which she was hastily wiping away.

"Dammit! Heh, I only just found out a couple days ago myself… Stupid hormones are already getting to me," she said, her voice loaded with emotion. It suddenly clicked in Gohan's mind why she was opting out of their training now, and why she'd been hesitant to eat recently. _Morning sickness_ , he thought with amusement.

"Well, that was something to behold," stated Beerus confusedly from behind Gohan, bringing them all back to the situation at hand. Gohan turned to look at him and almost laughed at the utterly bewildered expression on the god's face, like he'd never seen anyone get so excited for something like a pregnancy announcement before. _Then again, I doubt he's ever been around to see such a thing happening… Do gods have babies?_ Beerus interrupted his thoughts, "Well, anyways, that is something you're going to have to think on half-breed." He turned back to face Goku and Vegeta again and continued, "As for you two, I'm going to assume that you're on-board? No doubt you're going to set everything in motion to take on the cold empire, seeing as your race's future might depend on dealing with that before they deal with you, but your attendance on my planet is entirely voluntary."

Goku nodded excitedly, just as he always does when he gets excited about the prospect of a good fight. But Vegeta seemed troubled by something, and raised his voice, "I've got to know first, before I make a decision, why would you allow us to join you? What's in it for you?"

Whis was the one to answer, looking down at the prince in a knowing sort of way, "Well, Vegeta, suppose you spend the last few million years doing the same thing over and over without any change?..."

Beerus didn't say anything to the contrary, but averted his eyes with a short grumble, as if Whis had just told an embarrassing secret about him. Vegeta couldn't help the dumbfounded look on his face as he asked, "That's it? It's because you're bored?"

The god rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine, yes, I'm bored. I rather enjoyed my fight with Goku, so I figured _two_ Saiyans could provide me with twice the fun, provided they were fit to do so." He hesitated and tossed a quick look towards Gohan, "Three would be better, but I could understand if you decided to omit yourself from my expectations."

Gohan felt torn. On one hand, it really was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to undergo training with the god of destruction. But on the other, there was a child in the mix now that was _his_. Not just his little siblings, not just Lime, and not just Videl. He would be hard pressed to find a justification in his mind to leave such a thing behind to train. He glanced over to his grandfather and suggested, "Well, Bardock is also a capable Saiyan warrior, perhaps-"

"Oh no, you're not throwing me into that mess!" said his grandfather quickly, cutting him off. It was apparent by the expression on his face that he wanted nothing to do with gods. Beerus quirked an eyebrow at him, but didn't respond. Bardock shrugged and said, more calmly, "Besides, I am the commander of the Saiyan army. If we're going to be starting a campaign against the empire, then I've got no time for training so far away… or living soft like I have this last year." He grumbled the last bit under his breath, his cheeks turning a very faint pink out of embarrassment.

Beerus looked back to Gohan, who was starting to have the realization of what was happening sink in. He looked at Videl, who was watching him carefully, an uncertain expression on her face that mirrored Gohan's own thoughts. He returned his eyes to the god and said slowly, as if unsure of what to say, "I'll… have to let you know later, Lord Beerus. I've got to think on it."

Beerus nodded and looked back at his attendant, "Well, Whis. No more waiting about, I'm tired."

With that, Whis nodded and propped his staff up while Beerus placed a hand on his back. "So long, I'll be seeing you soon!" And just like that, with a quick tap of Whis' staff, they were gone in a pillar of multi-colored light.

The silence that followed hung over the group uncomfortably for a few moments as the details of the conversation settled on them, both for the Saiyans and their unknowing families. Gohan took a deep breath and turned back to his wife, embracing her once more and mulling things over in his mind as everyone slowly started stirring back into action.

 _We've got a lot to talk about…_

It didn't take long before they'd all gathered in the primary Capsule Corp dome, so as to have some privacy for the conversation that was about to take place. While some of the adults – namely Erasa, Sharpener, Lime, and Tights – had decided to remain absent for the conversation that was about to take place in order to watch the children, everyone else was present. And of course, the first one to say something was Bulma.

"So, now that we're all here, what is this about a campaign against an empire? What sort of deal have you three brokered without informing us?" she asked, none too patient in her tone. The collective group looked towards the Saiyans expectantly. The five of them shared a quick look before Bardock took the cue to respond.

"So, you remember Frieza?" he asked, his voice level. There was a hushed murmur that rushed around the room before Krillin spoke up, "Yeah, hard to forget that whack-job. What about him?"

"Well, it would appear that despite the abrupt ending of his bloodline, his army is still there, and in large numbers too. I don't think I need to tell you what that means for us."

There was a quiet buzz of conversation at the news, and Yamcha broke through to make himself heard, "Well, yeah, but why should we be concerned about that? I mean, it's not like they're going to come after us, right? I doubt the even know where we are!"

Krillin jumped in and interrupted, "Wait, Yamcha. Frieza and his dad came here, so did Cooler, remember? I doubt they've forgotten exactly where we are."

Tien interjected thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, "But if that's the case, then why haven't they come for us?"

There was another buzz of conversation before Gohan spoke up, inserting himself into the conversation before any further conjectures could be made, "It's pretty simple really… We managed to eliminate Frieza, Cold, _and_ Cooler, all within a few months of each other, practically as soon as they set foot on Earth. How many of their soldiers do you really think would be willing to come here to take us on after that? They know what we're capable of, and I doubt any of them are dumb enough to try it."

A calm quiet sank in after that as people thought about what he had said. Bulma picked back up, crossing her arms and leaning up against a wall and asking, "Well, that makes sense, but why would you need to start a war with them? Isn't it enough to let them ignore us?"

There was a murmur of consent from many of the others, particularly Chi Chi and Videl were vocal about their position on the situation. Gohan couldn't blame them, but then there was the other half of him that was actually looking forward to the fight, that wanted the war. He sat silent while Bardock shook his head and explained, "Normally, I would agree with you, except that our race is but a fraction of the size of the empire… In fact, if we account for only half of the Frieza force that was there when _I_ was alive last, they outnumber us by nearly three thousand to one. There were millions of them."

Those estimates sent a shocked look throughout the room as the implication of It all dawned on them. Vegeta added on, "The Empire continued to expand all through my adolescence… So even with a large loss of their manpower since Frieza died, I expect them to still hold a significant number advantage over us."

Chi Chi interjected quickly, "Well, couldn't you or Goku take care of them? I mean, you two are easily capable of handling even a thousand of Frieza's goons, right?"

"Mom, these soldiers are likely to be embedded in civilian populations. Sure, we could go out and systematically destroy every planet they possess, but at what cost? And if we were to go to each planet and destroy each of the soldiers one by one, it would be long and tiring, and eventually their numbers would catch up with our endurance. The entire Saiyan army plus us couldn't do it all at once like that. We'd get to planet number two or three, and they'd have a force of millions waiting for us just for that reason." said Gohan grimly.

Bardock continued, "Exactly. It may have been enough for them to ignore one or two Saiyans left alive on a remote planet beyond the borders of the empire, but if they were to discover that the Saiyans had suddenly returned with some formidable numbers? I've no doubt they'd tag us as an immediate threat and bring down enough forces to eliminate us. It's their standard doctrine when it comes to their territory; destroy local resistance and force the remainder into servitude. Beyond that, we don't currently know the state of the empire, what worlds they occupy, or where their forces are concentrated. We'll have to find that out first, and find out before they find _us_."

Chi Chi sat down heavily and leaned on a table next to her, grumbling to the floor, "Of course, just as soon as we get rid of Buu and finally get a break, there has to be something else looming on the horizon, doesn't there? Of all the things, I never expected we'd have to deal with Frieza again."

Goku wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders, kneeling besides her and looking at her with that infectious grin, "Well, at least we don't have to worry about Frieza this time! Sure, we might have to get the whole Saiyan army involved, but at least most of Frieza's soldiers were pushovers! It shouldn't take too long, and we get to go train with Beerus!"

Videl, from her chair next to Gohan, spoke up loudly and sternly, "Yeah, that's another thing! What's this about you three going to train on Beerus' planet? What exactly does that entail?"

Vegeta shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Exactly what it sounds like. Not that it should matter to you, we already know Gohan won't leave, purely out of principle."

Gohan silently had to agree with Vegeta, though it didn't make him happy. No matter how he thought about it, he doubted he'd be able to walk away from Videl now, regardless of how much he wanted to go. Videl squeezed his hand without looking away from Vegeta, and he could tell she was still nervous that he _might_ just take Beerus up on his offer. "But it does matter to me," she said sternly, "much as I dislike your attitude half the time, I know I'm not the only one who worries about you three. Just earlier today, Beerus was on the verge of killing us all, and now you're going to go train with him? That's the part I don't get."

"I don't expect you to, brat, but it's not an offer we could really refuse. There's only one god of destruction, and to learn from him would make us the most potent fighters known in this universe. That's not an opportunity that we can pass up," said Vegeta with a smirk.

Bulma groaned and rolled her eyes, "Right, as if you needed any more reason to pump your melon any bigger than it already was. Fine, I get it, you want to go and get stronger, but why can't you do that here? I mean, you've got the gravity room, you've got Gohan and Goku, why do you need Beerus to do that?"

Goku piped up cheerfully, "But Bulma, it's _the god of destruction_! Think of all the things we can learn from him! All the different techniques, all the new ways to train! Shoot, if all it costs is a little food here and there, it's worth it just to have the experience."

Bulma looked like she was going to retort, but Vegeta cut in quickly, "And another note, you all just heard that he wants us there because he's bored… _and_ that he doesn't like to be disappointed. To be honest with you, I'd be concerned what he would do if we turned him down." Bulma closed her mouth and unfocused her eyes as what he meant settled in.

Gohan kept his thoughts to himself as the conversation started hanging awkwardly, feeling the conflict of his desires raging in him. His eyes weren't focusing on anything in particular as he weighed his options. He could feel a pair of eyes burning into the side of his head and knew that Videl was watching him. He had no doubt she could feel his inner turmoil as much as he could. As if to punctuate his thoughts, Yamcha spoke up, "Really sucks for you though Gohan. You have to choose between two-"

Without thinking about it, and before he realized he was even saying anything, Gohan cut in, "There's no choice." A silence followed his words, and in it, he realized that everyone was looking at him with a start. He blinked a few times and refocused in on them before locking eyes with Videl, who had a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips. "There's no choice to be made, I have to stay here." Even as the words left him, he felt a heavy weight of disappointment and even a bit of regret weighing on him. But Videl's smile took the edge off and strengthened his resolve. "Training with Beerus is one thing, but this is my first child we're talking about…"

With that, it seemed the conversation was changing once more to focus on the upcoming addition to the Son family with a much lighter tone filling the air. Of course, there was the giggling and excited talks about the baby shower and names and other such things from the women that Gohan had expected, but most of it was passing right through his head like so much chaff. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

It had been a long day.

 **LATER THAT WEEK**

Gohan wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. He stood outside the tall glass windows of the shop his mother had dragged him and Videl to, then told him to wait outside for them. So there he was, standing awkwardly with his back to the glass, watching as the crowds of people went walking by on the clean tile of the indoor mall, chatting away. The sound was hurting his ears.

He'd never been fond of public settings like the mall here in Satan City, but after a few years of practice, he'd learned to filter out a lot of the noise that accompanied large groups of people until he could leave and get back to some quiet. Not this time though. His mother, once she had heard about the pregnancy, had all but vowed to take Videl and Gohan by the back of the shirt through every step of becoming parents, kicking and screaming if need-be. This was their third outing this week alone, and the focus of todays shopping spree was Videl. Chi Chi had pointed out that most of Videl's normal clothing wouldn't be suitable for a young pregnant lady, therefore, she had been dragged into four clothing stores already in search of "proper" maternity attire. Gohan glanced down at the small pile of boxes in bags at his feet, and couldn't help but smile in slight amusement, in spite of his irritation that he and Videl seemed unable to get away from his mother.

 _She's really getting into this, isn't she? It's been a while since mom had an excuse to do any hardcore shopping. Heh, this is probably more exciting for her than Videl._ He noticed the box at the bottom of the pile which contained a pair of very cushiony shoes that required no lacing, recalling the brief explanation about what happens to a woman's feet during the second trimester. Videl had turned a little pale, having never really encountered the side-effects of pregnancy before. Gohan was slightly more knowledgeable, having dealt with his mother during her pregnancy with the twins. He cringed as he remembered how bad her feet had swollen during that brutal time, wondering how she looked back on it with such fondness. _At least she's definitely having more fun than I am,_ he though, slightly bitter, _I still have nightmares about when she was pregnant. Between the serious mood swings and absurd appetite… and the snoring… At least it's only nine months._

He shook his head of the thoughts cluttering his mind as something caught his attention from the store across from him. His eyes fixed on a large television that was on display in the window, showing what appeared to be a formal government hearing with the banner title "VOTE TO BE HELD ON PLANETARY DEFENSE FORCE PROPOSAL NEXT WEEK". Gohan quickly passed through the crowd to get closer to the window. He didn't know what this "planetary defense force" was. At the speaker podium was a middle aged man with white streaks in his otherwise burnt-orange hair, and a very obvious pin on his jacket lapel. It was a crimson "AS" bordered by a gold ring, the same logo that had been seen spray painted on cars and worn on bandanas by the Anti Saiyan Coaltion. Gohan grimaced and though, _ANTISA again? What are they up to now?_

He read the captions at the bottom of the screen as they scrolled past: " _-d gentlemen, I am here to present to you a proposal on the behalf of my employer. Due to the arrival of the Saiyans on Earth, and in the interest of public safety, we have stood up a reactionary defense force capable of dealing with extraterrestrial threats if the need arises. This force is purely voluntary, separate from government payroll and command structure, and has been authorized under the laws of this nation. What we are proposing is a chance to evaluate our visitors in a structured and cooperative environment so as to ascertain their intentions for the betterment of relations with our visitors. However, to stand up a community such as this, we require the approval of the people to do so, and ultimately, the king._ "

Gohan took his eyes away from he text to get a good look at the man speaking. He took in his features, from the thick white moustache and greased back red hair, to his fairly square and squat build, and his strange looking eyes. After a moments further inspection, Gohan realized that only the man's left eye was real. His right eye seemed far too dull, and wasn't pointing in the right direction. It was when he blinked and the eye spun wildly in the socket that Gohan was certain that it was in fact a glass eye. The short mans real eye however, seemed shifty and held a cunning that gave Gohan a strange sense of foreboding. He didn't like the look of him. Gohan could have sworn he'd seen this guy somewhere before, though he wasn't entirely sure where.

A light tap on the back of his arm caused him to jump in alarm and turn to face his would-be attacker, but only came face to face with Videl. She stepped back, startled, then laughed at the sheepish expression that came over his face. "You alright Gohan? You usually don't let me sneak up on you like that."

Gohan smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, putting what he'd seen on the TV to the back of his mind for now, "Yeah, I guess I'm just a little worn out from the last week… Where's mom?"

Videl rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh and indicated over her shoulder to the shop she had just come out of, "Went back in for something… Wouldn't tell me what, but she _did_ head back off to the… uh… _unmentionables_ part of the store, if you get my meaning." She trailed off with a slight grimace, and Gohan likewise felt a short urge to gag at the thought of what sort of lingerie his mother could possibly be getting, not to mention what it was going to be used for.

But then Gohan realized; _We're alone. Mom might be a while in there. We might get in trouble, but… well, what the hell, why not?_ Without waiting for her consent, Gohan let loose a short chuckle and grasped his wife's tiny hand in his, quickly grabbing the handful of bags at his feet and running off through the crowded mall, Videl trailing behind him with a startled yelp. "Gohan! What are you doing?" she asked with an excited tone, laughing at his antics.

He grinned at her over his shoulder and said shortly, "escaping!"

She giggled in a very un-Videl-ish way, and quickly caught up with his pace, which was really barely more than a fast walk for either of them. Freed from his mother, they made quick progress through the mall, visiting all sorts of stores along their wayward path. One of the first was a capsule corp store, much larger than the surrounding shops, with a brand new capsule motorcycle on display in the glass window. Gohan couldn't help but stare in awe at the machine, which even he had not seen in the flesh yet. A description sheet in the window stated:

 _The CC Daemon: The worlds first commercial intelligent super-bike! Coming to you just in time for Christmas, a motorcycle that comes straight from our factory to your pocket loaded with all the power and performance of a professional racing bike, with all the comfort and utility of an off-road platform or cruiser. This platform features unrivaled acceleration and handling on hard surfaces, and even has a built-in mode that allows for off-road performance with the use of our new patented variable-tire technology that can change the grip and function of your tires mid-ride. Tired from a long trip on your bike? Make the ride more comfortable with the option to recline the seat into cruise mode. For more information, please contact: Capsule Corporation, West City…_

Gohan tore his eyes away from the description to check out the bike once again. Even Videl was staring at it in wonder. As it turned on it's little platform, it was actively changing its form to give a view of all the different modes available to the rider. Switching from a sleek, low slung and extended street-bike shape, to a high-riding shape with tires that actively changed from being the smooth street tires to the more rugged and rough off-roading tires. Then the bikes seat shifted back and down, with the front wheel extending out and the handlebars reclining back to allow for a rather comfortable looking cruiser shape that still retained all the sleek elegance of the street bike style. "Wow, Bulma really went all out on this thing, didn't she?" asked Videl from his right.

Gohan nodded dumbly and grunted in response, not really knowing what to say. He'd heard she had a team working on a bike like this, but only in passing. Gohan inwardly noted that in spite of his ability to fly much faster than the bike, he really would enjoy having such a machine. _Maybe once I've got the degree and a steady job_ , he thought with a sad sigh.

Videl tugged on his arm and started pulling him away from the window, with a sly smirk on her face, "Come on, you're drooling all over the floor. If I'm not careful, you'll run off with that pretty young thing and leave this older model behind."

Gohan chuckled and raised his eyebrows at her in a playful manner, "Hey, don't play like that, you never know when you're going to be right."

She shrugged and held up the small bag in her other hand with a devious wink, "Well, you do that, and you'll never see what _I_ got you from that store while your mom wasn't looking." Gohan was genuinely puzzled for a moment, knowing that the store they'd escaped from his mother in was a women's clothing store, therefore ill-suited for his own personal wear. Then it struck him exactly what she meant, and he felt his face grow hot and his stomach flip. "Oh…"

She rolled her eyes and chuckled before latching her arm with his, and half leading him towards the food court. "Come on, I got a craving for ice cream."

 **MUCH LATER**

Chi Chi finally managed to find them about an hour after they had made their escape, finding them seated across from an indoor fountain, contented to just sit and relax after an ice cream. Gohan spotted her first, muttering under his breath, "Uh oh… twelve o'clock." Videl looked up and they both stood as his mother parted the crowd in front of her with a vicious look on her face, until she caught sight of the two of them and visibly deflated.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" she said breathlessly, obviously having been in a bit of a panic earlier. "When I couldn't find you, I- I though something had happened, and I-" she stammered, emotion starting to bleed into her voice as she quickly embraced the two of them, catching them both off guard. Gohan blinked a few times in surprise and said, "Mom, it's us you're talking about. What's going to happen to us that we can't handle?"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

She quickly let go of her hold on Gohan, stepping back and holding onto Videl protectively, "What's going to happen to you?! Videl is _pregnant_ Gohan! She can't go about getting into trouble, or fighting, or anything like that now, because now there's a baby!" She yelled loudly, turning the heads of many passer-by. She pointed an accusatory finger at him and continued, "Like it or not Gohan, you're going to have to take up some responsibility for what happens to Videl, and you! You can't just go around doing whatever you want and putting your baby in danger!"

Gohan, who thought that her tirade was completely unjustified and over-exaggerated, held up his hands defensively and said, "Look mom, all we did was go and grab an ice cream. It's not like we went off to fight someone."

This, too, seemed to be the wrong thing to say to get his mother to relax. She gritted her teeth at him and planted her hands on her hips, "It's more than just the fighting thing! You've got to make sure that Videl is well rested, well fed, and most importantly, comfortable! You disappeared, and I had no clue what was going on! You could have gotten into trouble, or she could have gotten hurt, or the baby could have-"

"Mom! Relax!" he said sharply, his voice dropping to a much harsher tone than he usually used. The barky, gritty tone rang through the air, leaving a tense silence in its wake that even seemed to pause the crowds around them. Gohan took a deep breath and averted his eyes from his mother and Videl, who had remained silent with wide eyes during the entire exchange.

Chi Chi froze, apparently shocked that Gohan would bark at her like that, completely ignoring the long standing persona of respect he had for his mother. It wasn't a common occurrence, and just like every time before, it was readily apparent to Gohan that it had struck a fairly harsh psychological blow to her. He felt the guilt flood him as she straightened her back, lifting her chin defiantly and obviously struggling to keep her hurt hidden. "Fine, Gohan. I got it, you're a big man now, you can handle it."

"Mom…" he started apologetically, but she shook her head sharply and cut him off, "No… You're right, Gohan. It's so easy for me to forget that you're not the same little boy any more. It's just…"

She looked between the two of them, and Videl finally made her voice heard, "Chi Chi, it's okay. I promise, we can handle anything, you've got to stop worrying so much. Okay?"

And just like that, Gohan was once again lost in the antics and mood-swings of his mother as she abruptly let go of the stiff upper lip and practically started bawling into Videl's shoulder, gasping out apologies between muffled sobs. Both Gohan and Videl were at a complete loss as to what they should do. It was about this point that Gohan realized that they still had an audience, and looked around at the twenty or so people sternly before barking irritably, "What, got nothing better to do? Get out of here!" The crowd scattered quickly, and Gohan shook his head with a heavy sigh.

He laid a hand on his mother's shoulder with a sigh and waited for her to recover her composure before giving her a soft smile and nodding back towards the ice cream shop they'd been to earlier, "You know, they're going to be open for a while yet… I can get you pistachio?"

Chi Chi wiped her face with the sleeves of her kimono and sniffled before struggling out, "What, not only are you trying to make me feel old, you want to ruin my diet too?"

Gohan snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes, "Really? Gonna try and use that one on me? I know better, you've still got the twins to chase after all the time."

They all laughed at his mother's mock hurt at the statement and made their way to the shop for a second round of ice cream. It wasn't until they were walking back up the halls of the mall that Chi Chi spoke again, emerging from her pistachio ice cream with a thoughtful look. "That actually reminds me, Gohan… There's been some trouble with Goten, and I was hoping you could talk to him."

Gohan was taken aback by her statement, which didn't sound too pleading or desperate, but confused him. "Me? I don't understand."

Chi Chi continued to look ahead of her, nibbling on the end of her plastic spoon for a moment before continuing, "Well, I don't really know how to put it, to be honest with you. Your father isn't really the most helpful either, but Goten seems to have been getting a bit… well… angrier, recently."

The thought sent chill of concern through Gohan's veins, and it seemed as well with Videl. She grasped onto her husband's hand tightly and sent him a worried look while asking, "Angrier? What do you mean? He's not… you know?" she trailed off.

It didn't take a lot for Gohan to know what she meant. She was referring to him, and how dark and disturbed he had been not five years before. If he was honest, that was the part that worried him the most. For all of his effort to hide his foul mood and self-loathing from his little siblings, he knew that the two of them were far too intelligent and much more perceptive than they seemed. Indeed, during the fight with Buu, Gohan had been confronted by Goten about his behavior immediately after the death of their mother. Goten had gone into the same sort of rage that Gohan was prone to, only being pulled out of it by a sharp strike to the cheek that still made Gohan's heart hurt with guilt to this day. Of course, their mother had been revived by the combined powers of both Earth's and Namek's dragons, but the things that had happened during that fateful day were still fairly fresh in Gohan's mind, and no doubt in his little brother's as well.

"That's just it, I can't really tell. I'm afraid to say that for all of my efforts, it seems like Ria is the only one who still really wants to be involved with me," said Chi Chi in a down-trodden tone that hurt Gohan a bit more than he was sure she meant to, but he buried the feeling. Instead, he focused on the potential issue at hand. Chi Chi continued, "See, she told me that while they were at school, Goten picked a fight with another kid, though she said she didn't know what it was about in the first place. Nothing happened from it, but the fact still remains…Well, I guess you couldn't really say he picked a fight, but he chucked a ball at him from across the playground and hurt him pretty bad."

That sent a new wave of worry through Gohan. _Picking fights? I know mom wanted to send them to school so they could get the social interaction I was lacking growing up, but I know I taught the two of them better than that… And Goten is always such a happy kid. I think she's right, it sounds like there's something eating at him._ He furrowed his brow and looked down at the tile passing between his feet without actually looking at anything as another thought occurred to him. _That's why she wants me to talk to him, I was there already, I experienced all the anger and resentment. She thinks I'll have a better chance of getting through to him._

He shook his head and gave her a side-long look, asking simply, "When do they get out of school?"

Chi Chi looked relieved he'd agreed to it and checked her watch, "Well, their last class ends at three thirty… so in about two hours. I was going to pick them up on the way home."

Gohan nodded and shrugged, "I'll grab them, don't worry about it. Besides, I've been wanting to get a little more practice in with the instant transmission, and this seems like as good a time as any."

They continued on after that for a short while before they passed a store on their left that made Gohan pull up short. Videl and Chi Chi walked past him a few paces before stopping and turning around curiously.

"Gohan?" said Videl questioningly, before turning to look at the store he was staring at. _Orange Star_ _Optical_ , read the sign above the glass doors. It took a few moments before she realized what he was thinking and returned to his side, looking up at him with a slightly amused expression, "Still thinking about it?"

Gohan nodded and looked down at her with a nervous expression. He looked up to see his mother looking quizzically between him and the store front with a very puzzled expression. He sighed and began explaining, "Well, see mom, Grandpa Bardock noticed that I was squinting at things a while back, and I started noticing it a lot more too and... Well, I don't know..."

She looked worriedly at him, "But... You've never had a problem with your sight before. I don't understand..."

Gohan shrugged and took a deep breath, "I know. I'm not really certain that my eyes are worse now than before but... Well, I think I want to find out for certain."

With that, he sighed and looked back up at the sign with a sense of foreboding before stepping forth and pushing the door before him.

 **ELSEWHERE**

"Congratulations, sir. That was very well recieved, I think they'll be voting in our favor come next week." said a tall and lean man in his later years, his formal wear crisp and contrasting. The scarlet and gold pin on his chest shined in the light as he took the coat of the red-haired man that Gohan had seen on the television. The short man, who only stood a few inches taller than Krillin, rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck as he was relieved of his restricting formal wear. Left behind was only his white shirt and scarlet vest to cover his portly frame. He groaned irritably and limped over to a table across from a very ornate hardwood desk and high backed chair to retrieve a tumbler of whiskey and a very plump cigar. His gait was rough and choppy, as if he was struggling to make his limbs operate normally.

"That was never a concern of mine, Charles. Do me a favor, bring me a glass of saline? I want this thing out of me." grunted the man as his butler hung his coat on a rack next to the door. "Oh, and call for captain Whats-his-name for me."

The butler turned to look at him with a passive expression before commenting dryly, "Captain Wilhem, Sir?"

The short man sat down heavily on his high-backed chair with a groan and cut the cap from his cigar. "Yeah, that one."

Charles nodded knowingly and backed out of the room, leaving the short man to light his cigar. Satisfied that he had it lit well enough, he clamped it between his teeth and began rifling through the sheets scattered across his desk, looking through the neat row of files before finding the one he wanted. The front of the file read _Son Gokku, Subject 1_ beneath an old and fading red bow with dual R's on it. He suddenly grimaced and clutched at his head, groaning and dropping his cigar onto an ash tray next to him. With a practiced motion, he pulled a small tin from the front pocket of his vest and quickly opened it, his face still anguished. Fighting the shaking in his hands, he retrieved a large pill from the tin and quickly stuck it between his teeth, fighting to retain control of his hands as he started shaking violently.

A faint crack echoed through the air as he bit down on the capsule, his body going rigid. A moment passed where it looked like he had stopped breathing, his jaw muscles twitching violently and his good eye rolled back in his head. But then it passed, and the drug took hold. He relaxed fully, and settled back into the chair. He took a deep breath and picked up his cigar once more, taking a sip from his whiskey and cracking his neck again with a look of relief on his face.

A moment passed before the door to his dimly lit office opened once more, and Charles returned bearing a silver platter with a short glass filled with clear liquid and a sturdy looking leather eye patch atop it. He was followed shortly by a much younger man wearing an olive drab tunic and trousers of military stiffness, a brimmed wheel cap atop his head bearing the Antisa logo on it's crest.

"Sir." stated the captain, giving a stiff salute before standing at attention and waiting for the older man. The short man didn't respond immediately, first taking the platter from Charles. He took a puff on his cigar before setting it on the platter and pinching on either side of his fake eye. A sickening slurping sound emitted from the socket as the fake eye came free of his skull, and he dropped it unceremoniously into the glass of saline. The captain across from him barely contained his look of disgust as the older man picked up his eye patch and placed it over the empty socket, tying it around the back of his head.

"Do you have what I asked for, Captain?" asked the old man, resuming his work on his cigar, leaning back in his chair and staring down at the officer with his good eye.

The young officer seemed to come out of whatever state of mind he'd been in from seeing another man pop out his eye, and cleared his throat. "Yes sir, I have. My team has been conducting surveillance on the Saiyans, as you requested, and we've narrowed it down to two of the candidates. May I?..."

The old man nodded and indicated towards a remote at the far end of his desk, flipping on a switch next to it. A huge screen across the room from him flickered into life, and a picture quickly appeared on it, depicting Vegeta and Gohan in civilian clothing somewhere in a city, each looking sullen and angry in whatever situation they were each in. It was obvious that the two pictures were taken in different places and at different times, but there was a common denominator between the two: Both of the men were being confronted by someone, no doubt about their heritage.

The captain pointed the remote at the picture with Vegeta in it and clicked it, and the image filled up the whole screen and started playing. A large crowd of people were standing before the prince and shouting at him, though the footage was silent. Suddenly, he raised his arm, and a large ball of ki expanded from his palm, scattering the crowd before him and terrifying any onlookers. "Vegeta, subject three, has a history of violence and a general distaste for humans in general. He was well known to have caused lots of damage on his initial arrival on our planet, along with his Lackey, Nappa. We thought until recently that he would be the best candidate for our intentions, but..."

The older man took a sip from his glass of whiskey and leaned back into his chair. "But what?"

"Well, sir, he _is_ married to Bulma. In spite of him being our best target for sure, Capsule corporation is our greatest source of technology and weaponry. The damage we could cause to CC would likely spell trouble for us down the line." With that statement, a red X appeared over the frozen image of Vegeta. "We ruled him out, but the two I spoke of are still viable. Gohan would be the most obvious choice here. He's a recovering man, well known for his violent outbursts. But we also believe that making him the subject of attention would fall short compared to our slightly more... radical choice."

The elder man nodded and propped himself up on his elbows as the captain once again clicked the remote, and a picture of Goku filled the screen. The old man seemed taken aback and pulled the cigar from his mouth, giving the captain a stern look. "Why would using Goku as our scapegoat be the best choice, Captain? He's got a reputation already, as you well know." he said bitterly.

The captain nodded and placed the remote down on the desk, looking directly at the old man and taking a deep breath before elaborating, "That's the exact reason, sir. Goku has a reputation with many out there for being a devout defender of Earth, of being there to protect it's people from bad guys like King Piccolo. We have a two part plan that will shatter that image, and permanently damage the Saiyan's reputation to the point, we believe, they will be forced into exile. First, we would release this..." He trailed off, pressing a button on the remote, and looking back up at the screen as a video began to play across it. The old man watched it, his eye wide and transfixed on the bright screen, with a sinister looking smile starting to creep across his lips. It was short, and soon the screen cut to black, and the captain continued, "And second, we carry out the main part of our plan. There is going to be a gathering in but a few weeks; A small town far north of Satan City, not far from where Goku and his wife are said to have settled. We have a small group of agents embedded there, and quite a few sympathetic individuals who inhabit the area. It would be a small matter to set events in motion."

The old man nodded, a satisfied smile on his face as he stared almost greedily at the once again still-image of Goku. "Good. Very good captain. Tell me, do we still have miss James on board with us?" The young man nodded in confirmation. "Excellent. I like it, let's set things in motion."

With that, the captain stood straight at attention once more with a salute, and about faced to march smartly back the way he came, closing the door behind him. The old man took a deep drag on the Cigar, filling the air in front of him with thick smoke that hung there like a black cloud as he exhaled, casting his face in obscure darkness from the light on the screen. He stood up slowly and hobbled around his desk to lean up against it, one hand holding his whiskey and the other scratching at the base of his stubbly chin. He puffed on the cigar once more before removing it with the same hand his drink was in, and stared up at the image once more with a deep chuckle. "Well, Goku, it seems that once again, it will be my wit versus your brawn. I may have failed, and the world thought me dead, but times have changed. Staff officer Black met his maker while I," he rubbed his forehead, where a faint scar was still barely visible just under his hairline, "I'm smarter, more cautious, and I've spent too long building up my power without you being any the wiser. Now, you won't be facing just me and my agents."

He paused his monologue with a twisted grin as he took moment to drain his whiskey, replacing the glass on his desk behind him. He stared up at Goku's image once more, an almost loving expression on his face that betrayed the malice in his eye. After a moment of hesitation, he reached up and scratched at the very heavy scar across his head, running through his hairline. "This time, you're going to have to deal with everyone else while I," he dragged on his cigar again, puffing out an even larger cloud of smoke, "I will be but a cloud of smoke for you to try and wrestle into submission. You'll never see me, you'll catch nothing but air. Finally, after all these years... over twenty _long_ years of recovery and scheming, I will have finally defeated you in a way that you'll never have seen coming. You and your kind will be gone, and I will finally achieve my life's goal."

He paused and smiled up at the image with a deeply satisfied expression, "Gero failed, for all of his genius. But I will not, not again. Finally, I will avenge the red ribbon army. Finally, Commander Red will have his victory."

He began chuckling, an unhinged and manic cackle that rang through his office. Commander Red of the Red Ribbon Army was alive, the attempt on his life a failure. And now, with a singular goal in his addled brain, he was once more going to bring trouble for Goku and his friends.

 **A/N: There we go! Man it feels good to be back writing again. Now, a lot of thought has gone into the plot of this fic, and I tell you what, I'm pretty proud of what I've come up with. Prepare yourselves, It's gonna be a bumpy ride to get to the end of this one. I only hope that you all will be as excited to see it as I have been writing it all out. Next time, we get into the gritty details.**

 **Now, for you purists out there, yes, I do realize that Commander Red is dead in canon. Don't think too hard on it, literally all we see in the show is that he gets shot, however, I _have_ seen people survive headshot wounds before. So bear with me. I briefly pondered what to do with this ark, adding something in to fill out the time before Frieza comes back in, and realized that I could stick the Saiyans into a situation they haven't really had to deal with yet. So, with a very slight alteration of canon events , I came up with something that's less filler, and more of a big story ark. You'll see what's coming soon enough, but suffice to say that if you were a fan of shows like Death Note, Sherlock, or any of those types of thrillers, these next few chapters are right up your alley. If not, then don't worry, It's not going to be like this to the end of the story. There's a lot coming, and soon, you'll have plenty more content coming from me. Until next time, I hope you have a fantastic day, and I'll catch you next time.**


	11. Framed

**Well god damn, I didn't expect this behemoth of a chapter to come out of me for this one. Warning in advance, this one is one of the more mature chapters I'll be posting. Unlike the last one, this one practically fell out of me without much prompting. So a second warning is in order, this one is LONG. Over 13000 words, to be precise. So strap in, read and enjoy! if you have any input, please do. I like knowing what readers think, ideas they have, and grievances they have with my own writing. I read all comments and PM's even if it may take a while to get around to answering. Without any further running of my mouth, onward!**

 **CHAPTER 11: FRAMED**

 **ORANGE STAR ELEMENTARY:**

Goten gritted his teeth and fought to ignore the itching in the back of his mind, that _urge_ to hit that Jeffry square in the teeth. He pulled his uniform's sleeves up into his palms and grasped the cotton material hard to prevent himself from simply throwing his desk at the boy.

Never in all of his nearly ten years on the planet had he felt such frustration with another person. He and his sister had been split up into different classes, leaving Goten feeling very alone in this strange new environment with a whole bunch of new faces that he wasn't sure how to handle. Sure, he was as friendly as ever, but he'd never felt so anxious around people before. _Why_ his mother had decided that public schooling was a good idea completely eluded him. Wasn't his schooling at home enough? Why couldn't he go to school with Trunks? After all, he was far beyond the learning level of your average fourth year student, as was his sister. All of this was only made more frustrating when one particular student had made his intentions with Goten very well-known during recess on his very first day.

Goten was much smaller than the Jeffry, who rose a couple of inches above, and was him very keen to point that fact out with a snide comment here or there, and more than a few jeering remarks that were clearly meant to get under Goten's skin. Goten, being all too aware of the vast gap in strength and ability between them, did his best to ignore him lest he do something he would regret. Goten had expected this, finding a bully and his little gang at a public school, since Gohan had told him about it from his short time in high school.

This had gone on for the first year of school, and into this one as well. Gohan had taught him how to handle people like Jeffry, and how to avoid getting into trouble, even when it would be really tempting to just let it go, consequences be damned. The last few weeks had been much worse though. Oddly enough, it had taken far over a year for someone to realize exactly who he and Ria were, and once it was known, the fire had spread. Goten had never been exposed to such conflict over such a mundane thing as his heritage. On one hand, there were a solid handful of students who treated him no differently than before, or even stood up for him when they saw him getting picked on. On the other was Jeffry, and people like him.

Today had been rough so far. Last week he'd nearly let it go by throwing a tennis ball at him from across the playground. If any of the coaches had seen the throw, they'd have asked him to join the baseball team immediately, but they didn't. The ball had struck Jeffry silly before being deflected off of his skull and striking the girl on the swings he was passing, who had promptly fallen off the swing at it's apex and started crying with a bloody nose after hitting the loose rocks below. Goten had never felt so guilty in his life, and the event had immediately wiped any thought of fighting with Jeffry from his mind.

But today, It was getting too close for comfort. It had started early in the day, with the big boy repeatedly smacking the back of Goten's head on the way to class. It wasn't until his sister had spotted them and quickly gotten rid of the bigger boy, who was apparently very scared of the small demi-Saiyan. Then during lunch, Goten had made the mistake of leaving his lunch capsule unattended with his bag for a moment while he went to get a drink and find his sister. During the few seconds it took, his lunch had gone missing, and judging by the laughter of Jeffry and his friends, Goten knew exactly where it had gone. He checked the trash to find all four bowls of chicken curry his mother had made for him splattered along the inside of the liner, the spent capsule broken at the top of the pile.

It had taken all of Goten's strength to not beat him to a pulp. But with his sister's help, he'd managed to simmer down and share her lunch in silent anger. Now, it was a mere five minutes to the end of class. Goten had packed up his bag and made sure that he had everything he needed before going home. He wasn't looking forward to the prospect of homework for the night. The work load wasn't hard, and there wasn't a huge amount of it, but it was the fact that he had to re-do his education for the sake of a "social experience" that bothered him. His brother had reassured both him and his sister that it would be worth it, that they'd meet someone worth spending their free time with. But as of yet, the only person Goten was ready to see come the end of the day was Ria.

Finally, the final bell rang, and the classroom was instantly filled with the sound of desks and chairs scraping on the tile floors. Goten made sure to be out of the room before anyone else, ignoring the calls of the teacher. He kept his head low, grasping onto the shoulder-straps of his backpack and quickly making his way through the halls to the bathroom.

He quickly took care of his business and went to wash his hands, ignoring the other people in the bathroom with him. But the loud slamming of the bathroom door and the uproarious laughter of several all-too-familiar voices brought his eyes quickly back up to the mirror just in time to see Jeffry entering the bathroom, trailed by four of his cronies. Goten knew all of their faces and felt his scowl return at the sight of them.

"Hey, hey, hey! Look at what we got here!" jeered the smallest of their group, a boy named Jon. "Aww, just a wittle baby Saiyan!" came another voice mockingly from the back. Goten lowered his eyes and focused on his hands, willing the fire in his chest to stop burning him so badly.

"Hey, Goten, I been meaning to ask," started Jeffry, flicking him on the back of his head and ruffling his hair. "Why ain't you got no tail like your daddy did in them old videos? Did it smell or something?"

One of the boys that Goten vaguely recognized as someone from Ria's class next to him piped up loudly, "hard not to since he probably got poop on it all the time!" Very loud laughter ensued, and Goten quickly dried his hands and tried to pass, only to be blocked by the five of them, who half surrounded him. Goten stopped, being careful to check his temper before grunting out, "Get out of my way."

Jeffry crossed his arms in what was supposed to be a menacing way, "You didn't answer my question, freak. You answer when I talk to you, you get me?"

Goten shook his head violently and pushed between Jeffry and Jon with ease, startling the two bigger kids with his strength before disappearing through the door and making his way towards the exit. He fought back the anger in his chest that was threatening to burst forth still, and soon found himself squinting his eyes to fight against the bright sunlight shining in through the large glass windows that made up the exit to the building.

Jeffry was close behind him, clearly intent on making the small boy as miserable as possible, all of his friends in tow. He quickly made his way outside, making sure to keep his eyes on the back of the little twerp's head and that unnaturally spiky hair. He almost caught up with him and called out viciously, "What you runnin' for twerp?! Gotta hide from me? Gonna run back home to your mamma? She's a human right? You know, my daddy says that Saiyans steal our women an' force 'em to have their babies because y'all's women are as ugly as a monkey's butt! In fact, he said you probably came from a monkey's butt, which makes you -"

He didn't get to say the rest of his immature thoughts, but it wasn't Goten who interrupted him. Something very large and very hard had merely popped into existence right in front of Jeffry, which he ran into, smacking his face hard on the surface. He cried out in pain and pinched his nose, feeling the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. Once under control, he looked up to see what exactly he'd run into, only to find a very tall, very muscular, and very angry looking version of Goten. But it couldn't be Goten, his hair was different, a long pale scar stretched from the top of his brow to his cheek over his left eye and this person was definitely an adult, and it was beyond him to explain how he had gotten there.

It wasn't until he noticed the fuzzy brown appendage wrapped around the man's waist, and the heavy scowl on his face, that Jeffry figured out he must be seeing Goten's older brother. He'd only seen Gohan on the TV and in newspapers that his father had been leaving around, but this guy fit the picture in his head. "The heck?! Why you do that, _Alien_?" he spat nastily. He checked over his shoulder quickly, expecting to find his little cadre agreeing with him, only to find that he'd been abandoned by his four friends as soon as Gohan had appeared.

"Alien, huh? Well, you're only half wrong. I suppose I've been called much worse in my time." said Gohan coldly with a shrug, asking over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of Jeffry, "This a problem Goten?"

Goten, who was very obviously relieved to see his older brother, just shook his head and said, "No, not worth the time, right? That's what you taught me."

Gohan nodded understandingly and crouched down so that he was eye to eye with Jeffry, his expression still stern. The young boy was staring defiantly at Gohan. He pointed at Gohan and spat out, "My daddy says you freaks are evil, and you need to go back where you came from. Says that you should have left the world saving stuff to Mr. Satan, 'cuz you only bring us problems."

Gohan considered the young boy with his head tilted to the side for a moment, mulling over his words thoughtfully, "Evil? Huh, that's really what your daddy thinks?" Jeffry nodded, Gohan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Tell me, what does your daddy do? Where's he get his information?"

Jeffry puffed his chest out proudly and said, "He used to work in a factory downtown 'til my mamma got killed during a big fight between some gangs down by the docks where she worked a few years ago. She was a nurse, trying to help people, then you showed up and she died with all the other people! Since then, he's been working for the Defence forces as a mechanic. That's where he hears all about you aliens and your evil intentions. He says it's your kind's fault my mamma died, that if ya'll hadn't been here, she'd have made it."

Gohan was startled at the boy's words, knowing exactly which fight the child had been referring to. He'd been in the thick of it, witnessed a lot of the carnage that had occurred during that time. Hell, he'd caused a fair amount of it, though he'd kept it strictly to combatants with weapons who were a threat to those around them. Incidentally, it was also the same day that he had discovered that Videl was aware of his alter ego, as well as family ties. He felt pity for the boy, knowing all too well that he was doing to Goten was misguided at best, and largely the responsibility of his upbringing rather than his own choice. "I'm sorry to hear that. Now, why do you think that justifies you picking on my little brother?"

Jeffry stumbled on the question for a moment before quickly saying, "'Cuz he deserves it! You all do, you're aliens, you-"

"Why do _you_ think it's okay to do it?" interrupted Gohan with a sharp tone, "I didn't ask you your daddy's opinion on us, I asked you why do _you_ think that _Goten_ deserves this kind of punishment? What did he ever do to you?"

The boy didn't know what to say to that, and simply stared back at Gohan with a hard look in his eyes, like he was seriously struggling to find some sort of excuse to justify his motives. "Yeah, that's what I thought," said Gohan with a sigh, "Now, I'll only tell you this once. Even if we weren't part Saiyan, there's no reason for you to be treating anyone like that, especially someone like Goten. He's done more for the Earth, and seen more than you would ever want to in your life."

"Quit lying!" yelled Jeffry, scowling at Gohan, who was completely unphased by the little boys yells.

"Whether or not you like it, boy, your daddy owes his life to us too."

"Shut up!"

Gohan furrowed his brow slightly, and his voice dropped in pitch as he addressed the boy further, "Whether or not he's only half human is besides the point, especially since you live in a world where you can speak to half-men, and other creatures can talk to us just like anyone else you know. For Kami's sake, our King is a literal dog. Your problem isn't that we're aliens, it's that you're scared of us because we're not so different than you, yet stronger because of our heritage. But guess what? My father has saved the world several times. I fought off Cell when I was about your age, before you were even born. Mr. Satan accepted me into his family when I married his daughter. Bulma Briefs is one of my longest standing friends. You know who Bulma is, right? Good, so you see, we're no more alien than you are, trusted for years by the very people you and others look up to. We've been here for years, living peacefully alongside you without anyone batting an eye at us."

Jeffry seemed to ponder the information being given him before shrugging and piping back up argumentatively, "But that don't mean you aren't evil like my daddy says."

Gohan snorted in amusement before fixing the child with an icy stare, to the point that Jeffry was forced to avert his eyes. "No, it doesn't mean we're not evil. I've met evil Saiyans before, I'm sure you've even heard of my uncle. It just means that we're only as evil as anyone else in the world might be, human or otherwise. The way I just saw you talking to my little brother, I'd say you were the more evil of the two of you."

Gohan was satisfied to see that the words seemed to strike home, and Jeffry's eyes started getting shiny as it started clicking. "You remember your mother, boy?" asked Gohan with a gentler tone. Jeffry seemed taken aback by the question, looking at him in bewilderment before nodding. Goten nodded and asked calmly, "You said she was a nurse, helping people. Sounds like a good person. You think she'd be proud of what you're doing to Goten? You think she'd be happy to see you bullying him, just because he's different than you?"

Jeffry didn't answer, staring at Gohan with a scowl on his face and barely restrained tears in his eyes. Gohan took a deep breath through his nose, knowing that the boy wouldn't say anything else, and his point had been made. He stood up and simply stated, "Go home, kid. Think about what you've been doing, and don't do it again. Not because I told you to, but because it's what any decent person would do. Now go."

Without any further prodding, Jeffry turned on his heel and sprinted off towards the school building once more. Gohan watched him go with a look of disappointment on his face before recomposing it and turning towards his little brother with a smile. "You alright squirt?"

Goten nodded and threw his arms around Gohan's middle, hugging him and mustering up a smile for his brother. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm glad you showed up when you did though, Jeffry almost made me so mad that it would have been worth fighting with him."

Gohan shook his head, though he struggled to keep the amused smile from his face. "Now Goten, you know that's not a good idea."

Goten made a pout and shrugged, "It would have made me feel better. You seemed to be handling people like him better too. You forgiven all those guys who attacked you and Videl because you're an alien?"

Gohan gave his little brother a stern look and said, "Of course I haven't. But there's a difference between grown adults that have made up their own minds and chosen wrong, and little impressionable kids who are too naiive to make up their own opinions on things they don't understand. Jeffry there is a victim of some neglectful upbringing. I doubt his dad is the most tolerant after what he's been through."

Goten scowled and crossed his arms, "That doesn't mean it's okay for him to pick on me. We never did anything to him, and he only picks on me. Why shouldn't I deal with him?"

Gohan sighed and placed a hand on his little brother's shoulder consolingly, "No, I understand, but you fighting back only proves his point. I'm not saying you're wrong for wanting to, but he doesn't really understand his own hatred. His reason isn't justified. I just hope _he_ realizes that it isn't…" He trailed off, thinking to himself for a moment before adding with a shrug, "To be honest with you, I thought I'd be much angrier with him, considering what I was hearing him say."

"That reminds me, why _are_ you here?" asked Goten roughly, changing subjects, "I thought you'd be out with mom and Videl?"

Gohan smiled and nodded down at him, "I was. Mom asked me to come get you, said something about doing some more shopping for Videl, or something."

"Aww! I wanna go!" came another voice from behind Gohan. He turned around and saw his little sister just in time to catch her as she leaped into his arms. "Hey Gohan!"

"Hey Runt! How was class?" asked Gohan with a grin, belaying no hint as to what had happened just a few moments before. Though he felt Gohan clam up behind him with a sigh.

"Capital B-booooring!" whined Ria before dropping down from his grasp. Gohan chuckled at her antics indicated up the road with his head. Nodding in consent, the other two kept pace with him on either side as he started walking up the road into town.

Goten looked up at his brother curiously and asked, "So when are you gonna tell us what's going on with you, dad and mister Vegeta? You never did say what that Beerus guy wanted."

Gohan looked down at him in surprise, and noticed that Ria, too, was hanging onto his every word. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "Well, I'm not really sure you want to know, to be honest. Besides, mom would kill me if I told you."

"Oh, come on Gohan! Please?" whined Ria, tugging on his hand.

Gohan thought quickly before smiling and saying in a hushed whisper, "Okay, but promise you won't say anything about it to anyone, not even Trunks. Not yet anyways." The two of them nodded, so he slouched down to get closer to their level and quickly said, "Beerus is offering a chance for us to train under him on his world, getting to experience some techniques and strength training that we had only ever dreamed of. Of course, we have no idea what to expect, or how long it'll take…"

The two of them looked up at him in awe. Ria suddenly smiled with excitement, and yet Gohan saw his little brother frown disappointedly and look away. Gohan fixed him with his stare and stood up straight in confusion, continuing down the sidewalk and considering his reaction. Ria, too, seemed to notice, and gave her twin a confused pout. "Goten, what's wrong? Was Jeffry being mean again?"

Goten grunted, but didn't actually respond. He kept his eyes downcast and just kept walking. Gohan and Ria shared a look of uncertainty. Gohan was about to say something to try and cheer him up, but Goten suddenly blurted out, "That's not why I'm mad…"

Taken aback, Gohan reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, but Goten ducked out from underneath it and stopped abruptly. Gohan and Ria both halted a moment later and turned back towards him. A few tense moments passed before Goten took a heavy breath and looked up at his older brother, "You're leaving again, aren't you?"

Gohan stared hard at him, and felt Ria's eyes turn onto him, seeming to pry him for answers as well. He should have known that this was going to happen, he'd expected them to both be upset that he wasn't around much anymore. But he'd expected it to happen much sooner than now; after he'd been gone from home for most of two years to live hundreds of miles away in Satan City with Videl. It seemed odd that it would only now be coming back around. "Well…"

"You are! I knew it. You're never there anymore Gohan. I mean, It's great having Dad back now, but I never knew him. You were always there and now... now it seems like you've gone and left us behind, like you've forgotten us!" He was almost yelling now, and Gohan was at a loss for what to say. Ria started to speak up in his defense, but Goten cut her off before she could get out a word, "No! You said it too, Ria. You wished Gohan would come back, you want it to be like it was before too."

Gohan looked between Goten's frustrated tears and Ria's uncertain, guilty expression, and realized that he hadn't really given it a whole lot of thought. He'd been so caught up in his life with Videl, with trying to get the Saiyans back on their feet, that he really hadn't been around for the twins after the Buu fight. Thinking back on it, he realized with a sensation of lead in his chest that he could count on two hands the number of times he'd actually gone out of his way to spend a day with his siblings, or any of his friends from high school for that matter. Even on days when he wasn't working at Capsule Corp. and Videl was off at school, he had always elected to go train, or to try and do something with the newly arrived Saiyans. He couldn't really explain to himself why, for he didn't know what his reason was.

"Goten, I know what you're feeling…" he said slowly, calculating his response, unsure of what sort of territory he was going into with Goten. He'd never dealt with either of his siblings being this moody before. Unsure of what to say, he hesitated, and Goten's eyes averted from him to stare bitterly at the ground in disappointment. Gohan sighed heavily and put his hands on his hips, unsure what to do with them, "Look, I know I haven't been around as much. I know I was always there before dad came back, but I've got a wife now. Your niece or nephew is going to be coming in only a few short months. I can't be there all the time any more, I'm sorry…"

Goten huffed and crossed his arms before saying, "But you've got time to go train with Beerus, huh? I'm not dumb Gohan, I know that means you and dad are gonna be gone for like, half a year again."

Gohan shook his head and rebuked, "No, I'm not. Sure, I've got some things to take care of on New Vegeta, but those are going to be short trips now that I've learned Instant Transmission."

Ria spoke up in a soft, timid voice, "Wait, you're not going?"

Goten, too, looked up at him with a surprised expression. Gohan shook his head, staring right back into his little brother's eyes. "I'm not. I've got to be here when the baby comes. After everything I went through, after all the bad things that happened when you two were growing up and dad was gone? There's no way I can leave Videl behind to deal with a baby alone."

Ria shuffled her feet anxiously and said quietly, "But… She won't be alone, she'll have us, right?"

Gohan gave a soft smile and ruffled her hair affectionately, "Yeah, but there's a huge difference between just having family, and having a father there. I did my best to be there for you two, even though I was only your brother… My child deserves no less of a commitment from me… More, actually."

Goten furrowed his brow and looked down at the cracks in the pavement before slowly responding, "But… What about the training? That Beerus guy doesn't seem like the type to give you another chance at it."

Gohan shrugged and started walking again, offering his hands for his siblings to take hold of, "Well, you're right there. I highly doubt he'll let me on for the same training later."

"Aren't you going to miss not doing it?"

Gohan chuckled and said lightly, "Well, I can't miss anything I haven't done before, right? Besides, I'm sure dad and Vegeta will let us in on what happened. Especially dad, he never had a knack for keeping things hushed up, even when he was told to do so." But in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but add, _I might regret not going, but at this point I'm committed, and I know I have to._

They walked on in silence for a short while, each of them lost in thought. They'd rounded a corner into a residential area before Goten spoke up again, "Gohan… I'm sorry."

Gohan looked down at his little brother and tugged on his arm lightly with a chuckle, causing him to bump into his hip, and asked, "What for?"

Goten had to fight the smile that came to his lips at the simple gesture, "Well…" his face fell to it's previous glum expression, "For yelling at you like that. And also, for getting so mad at school. I know you don't want me to fight with people, I just don't know how to be around all these kids at school, and it…"

Gohan nodded in understanding, "It's weird. It's okay, Goten. You don't need to apologize for being a normal person. I'd be worried if you didn't experience a little anger from time to time, especially when it comes to school bullies. It's a completely different world than the one you're used to. And considering that they know you're half Saiyan, things seem to be going pretty well. Remember how terrified I was, thinking that someone would figure it out? Shoot, I almost kicked Mr. Satan off a building for it. People will get used to it, just you wait."

Ria piped up from his other side, "Well, it's not so bad. Some of the girls are a little too _snooty_ for me though."

Goten gave a chuckle and leaned around their big brother to say, "Yeah, well _that's_ just because you're so much cooler than the rest of them, they're jealous."

Gohan abruptly pulled them up by their arms, tossing them up to catch them, one in each arm so that they were at eye-level with him and causing both of them to giggle. "As they should be! You two are easily the coolest kids at that school, bar none. Just wait 'til you get to high school though. You're gonna see some stuff there that will make you wonder _how_ humans manage to survive past their teens."

 **THE NEXT WEEK**

Goku popped back into existence in the Capsule Corporation courtyard, backed by over two dozen Saiyans. Among their number was all of Bardock's elite, a few other's that were easily identifiable as elder warriors, and a few who were built more like Gine. Gohan noticed that among them was the female Saiyan who had caught his ring on New Vegeta, Cassa. And with a slight pang of disgust, his uncle Raditz.

At Gohan's side, Bardock and Gine both seemed to stiffen a little at the sudden appearance of the Saiyans, and Gohan could practically feel his Grandfather's tone change to the authoritative military tone he used when commanding troops before he actually spoke, "Alright, you all know why you're here! My guys, you're staying in your old quarters. Everyone else, you're going to be given a room, courtesy of miss Bulma, so behave yourselves. Kakarot, Raditz, come here. Alright, get going, we're going to get straight to business once you're all situated."

The orders came quickly and efficiently from his Grandfather's mouth, and the Saiyans behind Goku were quickly spurred into action, gathering what little belongings they'd brought with them and making their way into the open doors across from them to greet Bulma and Vegeta, who were waiting inside. Raditz spared his little brother a quick glance before they both came closer to Bardock. Gohan made a point to stare hard at the side of his uncle's head, daring him to say or do something to irk him. He still resented what the large Saiyan had done all those years ago, a point which Raditz certainly seemed to realize, as he kept his eyes averted from his nephew.

It wasn't Bardock, but Gine who addressed the two of them. "You two, I know you've had a rough time of things in the past, but now we need you to cooperate."

Raditz made a short grunt to acknowledge that he had heard her, but nothing more. Goku however, gave his older brother a sideways look before responding, "I'll play nice, but since this is my planet, I'm going to lay down some rules." He paused, and Raditz turned his shaggy head to look down at him, disdain clear on his harsh features. "First and foremost, the people here are off limits. That goes double for my family and friends. You and I have worked together a little, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten what happened the last time you were here. Keep your head about you, and there won't be any further problems."

Raditz's jaw twitched in irritation, but he nodded and said shortly, "Fine."

Bardock looked between his two sons, and satisfied that that was the best he would get, turned his eyes onto his eldest once more, "One more thing before we go meet with the others, I'm going to need you and Gohan to be able to at least tolerate each other's presence. So, while we're here, either of you have anything to say?"

For the first time, Raditz made eye contact with Gohan. In those brief moments, Gohan could actually see the family resemblance between his father and uncle, and could see some sort of emotion behind those cold eyes that had haunted his childhood. They stared at each other, sizing the other up before Raditz did something that took him completely by surprise. He pressed his fist to his chest and bowed his head slightly, grunting quietly, "I… apologize, nephew. For what I did."

Gohan was so taken aback by the apology that he didn't know how to react. Even his father didn't seem to know what to do, and stared at Raditz in shock. A moment passed, and Gohan regained his wits, nodding once and saying stiffly, "Accepted." Unsure of what else to say, Gohan closed his mouth and waited for the awkward silence to pass. Raditz righted himself, and turned his eyes away from him once more to stare anywhere else.

"Good," said Bardock with a nod of finality, "now, on to business. We've got some things to discuss before we depart."

The four of them made their way back into the large family dome, where they could sense the other Saiyans had gathered. They were milling about in the large recreation area, staring about at the odd scenery with varying amounts of curiosity and, in some cases, apparent disgust. It occurred to Gohan that the lush and relaxing atmosphere here was a far cry from what all of them were used to, the exception being Bardock's elite.

As they came closer to the gathered Saiyans, they all turned their eyes onto Bardock expectantly. The four of them stopped a short distance from the gathered group, and Bardock crossed his arms and began speaking. "Alright, now that you've been introduced to Bulma and assigned rooms, let's get things going. First, Gohan," he looked towards his grandson, "I've brought a dozen warriors, some of which you know, and some you don't. Raditz will be among them. I've decided that they will be your reaction force, if you need it. Once we're done here, introductions will be made. Since you'll be staying here for the time being, you'll be in charge of them. You decide how they will best suite your needs, and what sort of training they will undertake." He turned his eyes back to the Saiyans, "You all, follow his orders, make sure you keep your noses clean. Anyone who disobeys his orders will be disobeying me, and will be punished accordingly."

A moment passed while he waited for any of the other Saiyans to object, but no such complaints came. The only one dissatisfied with the arrangement seemed to be Raditz, who made a nearly inaudible groan from behind them. Bardock ignored him though, and continued, indicating towards the remaining dozen Saiyans that were set partially apart from the others and speaking to Gohan again, "The rest of the Saiyans I've brought are intended to serve as our voice, and as an aid to Bulma. I've assembled what leadership we can afford to spare, and a few of our younger adults for menial labor. Ultimately, I intend to have a few of them stay here permanently, provided they can behave."

Gohan was genuinely surprised by that, not knowing how well a full blooded Saiyan would actually be able to adjust to human society. Gohan looked them over. The Warriors he had been assigned all seemed capable. Of course, he already knew his uncle, Tora, Shugesh, Borgos, and Fasha. The other seven were completely unknown to him. There were five males, all of which seemed to be molded from the same stock and eerily similar, standing at around five foot seven to six foot, with characteristically black hair and eyes. The only reall variation was in their choice of hairstyles and the tone of their skin. Gohan suspected that two of them were actually brothers, but decided that he would learn more later.

The other two were females, though here there was much more disparity. One was tall. Almost as tall as Gohan, with a close cropped head of spiky black hair, and had a muscular build that would have embarrassed any professional female bodybuilders and a firm, square jaw. The other was deceptively strong judging by her ki, because her physical appearance was decidedly thicker than what Gohan was used to seeing in a Saiyan's physique. In a way, she reminded Gohan of Shugesh, and wondered if the two of them were related somehow.

Aside from Cassa, he had never seen the other dozen Saiyans before, and they were far more varied than the warriors were. There were three male Saiyans who seemed quite a bit older than the others, though they retained their black hair still. One other female Saiyan who actually looked ancient by comparison, and the rest were as young as, or younger than Cassa. Of the younger crowd, there were four females and four males, all of which looked to be slightly younger than Gohan.

"Now," continued Bardock, "Here is the objective of you all being here. This is our first major attempt at trying to integrate into the Earth's population. I want you to be visible, I want you to behave and represent our race, and most importantly, I want you to protect this world with as much passion as you would for our own. We're about to start a full-scale war against the Cold empire, and I don't think I need to tell you what that means. Earth will be a target. We don't know when, and we don't know how many of the Empire's forces will come, but you can be sure that they will try to. If all goes well, then you'll never see any of them here. But, we all know how well plans play out in real life. So, don't get complacent."

There was a resounding chorus of "Yes sir" from around the group that echoed through the hall. Just at that moment, one of the sliding doors that led into the Brief's ward of the building opened, and the diminutive form of Vegeta came through it. The prince passed his eyes over the group, nodding in acknowledgement before passing them and disappearing out the other side of the room, no doubt heading for the gravity chamber for his daily training.

Gohan watched him go, and Bardock added on as an afterthought to his speach speech, "And don't get in Vegeta's way." He directed the statement towards the younger Saiyans, who all nodded in understanding, already knowing by reputation how volatile the prince could be.

A few moments later, and they were dismissed to get fully settled in. Gohan greeted them each in turn, learning the names of the Saiyans under his charge. Ruco was one of the shorter men with a cleanly shaved face and a wild mop above his brow who seemed pretty gruff. Pinache and Peppa were the two he'd guessed were brothers; an accurate deduction. They were among the older Saiyans in his group, roughly the same age as his grandfather. The only real way to distinguish the two of them was that Peppa was also clean shaven, while Pinache sported a rather goofy looking handlebar mustache, not unlike Hercule's. Erkin was the largest of the group, though still a couple inches shorter than Gohan, and spoke in a surprisingly soft tone. His long har reminded Gohan of Yamcha when he was younger, though not nearly as wild. And the final unknown male was called Sunhock, and was a man of very few words. Gohan noticed that he seemed to prefer standing away from the others, just observing and listening.

The female Saiyans were surprising to say the least. The tall one shook Gohan's hand with a very firm grip and announced herself boisterously as Avoca, and he was surprised to hear how girlish she sounded when speaking. Her hard exterior seemed to betray a more happy-go-lucky type of personality, not unlike his fathers. The shorter one gave Gohan a stiff nod when Avoca wrapped one of her well muscled arms around her shoulders and brightly introduced her as Sproute. Sproute didn't say anything at all actually, merely nodding or shaking her head at key points while Avoca was speaking for her. Gohan dismissed the relatively unusual greetings from his mind and turned his attention back to the group as a whole.

"Alright, here's the game plan. You all are going to learn how to dress, how to behave, and how to interact with humans, like humans. The key point here is that I want you to be comfortable around people, and have them see you just as another person on the street. While you're here, you're likely going to wind up on work shifts, or babysitting a VIP at the request of any of the governments who feel like they want to give you a shot. But it's not all going to be simple and easy, I'll expect you all to be at your best at all times, and to be ready to throw down as soon as I call on you. This means that you all are going to be hanging around with either myself, or any of my friends until you can adjust and get a routine. In the meantime, you all will undergo some training. Tora and the other's from Bardock's unit have already experienced some of this, and will be helping the rest of you to learn what they know. Until further notice, Tora will be my second. Once you have adjusted accordingly, you will gain some autonomy, and you'll be free to do what you wish in your spare time. Do I have any questions?"

He looked around at all of their faces questioningly, wondering if perhaps he should have been speaking more sternly, or perhaps even barking orders? But his new guard seemed to understand well enough, and a couple even looked somewhat eager at the mention of training, including Raditz. Gohan couldn't help it, he felt his old smirk sneak onto his face, and he said, "Good, stay here for the day, get some rest. You're gonna need it, because we start tomorrow morning."

 **WEEKS LATER**

Gohan rubbed his forehead tiredly, leaning back in his chair and heaving a heavy sigh. He dropped his hands and looked back down at his new pair of glasses that laid across the stack of papers he was supposed to be going over for Bulma. This had to be his least favorite part of helping run a megacorporation. Their TV in the living room droned on in the background, showing the evening news being broadcast from Satan City. Across the kitchen from him, Videl paused in her labor of washing the dishes from their dinner and turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked tentatively, noting the lines of stress on his face and the puffy look in his eyes that resulted from a lack of sleep. He jerked up at the sound of her voice, staring back at her with tired eyes, but he just nodded in response. She put the pan she'd been washing down and padded across the kitchen, drying her hands on a tea towel as she went, her worry evident on her face. Gohan replaced his glasses and picked up another one of the documents, pretending to be okay for her.

But she wasn't fooled. She grasped his shoulders in her hands and pressed, instantly making him relax as she massaged his shoulders. "You're working yourself too hard, Gohan," she said quietly. He allowed his eyes to shut as he leaned his head back against her.

 _She's right,_ he thought to himself. _But I have to keep pushing, I've got too many commitments to slow down now._ He reflected back on the last couple weeks since Beerus had arrived.

The Saiyans who had been chosen to live on Earth had been – so far – presenting themselves to anyone who saw them with an air of cool professionalism. Even Raditz had adjusted fairly well, keeping his cool when he was confronted by someone just outside of the Capsule Corp. buildings. All of them looked a little odd wearing Earth clothing, something that consistently amused Gohan when he saw it, though it had been limited. Gohan had been drilling them hard on what he considered the most fundamental parts of their duties, and a lot of them were ill suited. For starters, only half of the warriors he'd been given had managed to prove they could sense ki on a regular basis, and five of them had received prior training. The other six still seemed as lost as they had been upon arrival. Their collective strength, while formidable by normal standards, had much room for improvement in his eyes, and he pushed them hard for improvement.

It wasn't an easy task, even with the help of some of the other Z fighters and the elites he'd designated. But progress was being made, especially when they could get Vegeta to leave the gravity chamber for more than meals and sleep. The other dozen Saiyans that weren't part of his reaction team had been put straight to work. The four older Saiyans, whom Gohan seldom had time to talk to, had gone to fulfil their role as the voice of the Saiyans on Earth, speaking with national leaders and providing their own input to the diplomatic relations across the globe. The eight younger Saiyans were working directly for Bulma, and Gohan had seen a couple of them already being sent to aid in humanitarian missions at Bulma's behest.

He'd also had a chance to finally speak to Cassa, who had stopped Gohan one day after training to discuss her job on Earth. Once she seemed to get past the awkward silence spurred on by the memory of their first encounter, he had learned a couple things about her. She was eager to prove herself, having volunteered for the duty, and seemed genuinely interested in the goings-on of Earthly matters. Gohan had to give her credit, though she was young – three years younger than Gohan, provided you didn't count her time in hell – she was sharper than most. Bulma had taken an instant liking to her, and had sort of become the spokesperson for the younger members of her team to the Capsule Corp. heiress. Gohan had a feeling that within a couple of years, she would be an active member of Earth society, and no doubt a prominent member of Bulma's research team. Already, she'd learned how to build and maintain the healing chambers that Bulma had been improving upon.

Bardock and Gine had returned to planet Vegeta in preparation for the war looming on the horizon. Already, King Vegeta had ordered reconnaissance missions be sent out, and a picture of the state of the galaxy was starting to come into place. It wasn't looking to be an easy fight. They'd managed to isolate worlds already in conflict with the forces of the dwindling cold empire, but they seemed to be stuck in a state of perpetual standoff. These worlds were closer to Earth and Vegeta, and were determined to be their first targets. But they still did not know what lay further out across the stars, and were waiting to find out more information before they made themselves known.

And on top of all of this happening, Goku and Vegeta were preparing for their trip to Beerus' planet. Gohan had been counting down the days with a feeling of loss in his gut, knowing that he would not be attending with them. He fought with himself often, and with a higher frequency as the date grew closer. It was hard, pretending that he was okay with it, that he didn't want to go for the sake of his blooming family. Yet he knew he had to, it was only the right thing to do.

Videl's hands slid past his neck and across his chest as she leaned in close to him. He heat of her breath tickled his cheek, and he lost himself for a moment in her warmth. She kissed him gently on the cheek and rested her chin on his shoulder, and he could see the worried look on her face without needing to look at her. She sighed, and said, "You need to take a break, Gohan."

He put his paper back down and pulled his glasses off of his nose, holding them out for her to see and giving her a wry smirk, "Nah, it's just these things. They're hurting my head," he lied. She gave him a reproachful look. Gohan sighed again in defeat and put the glasses back down, "Okay, fine, you're right."

She raised her eyebrows and deadpanned at him, "You'd best remember it, too. I'm always right."

Gohan chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. She snorted in amusement and stood back up, returning to the sink and resuming her work, humming a quiet tune as she did so. Gohan just sat there for a few minutes, relaxing his tired eyes and ignoring his paperwork. He knew that he really did need to take a step back from it for a while, and turned his eyes upon his wife once more.

It amazed him really, that even when she was doing something as boring as washing dishes, she was still beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony tail, she was wearing a baggy shirt reminiscent of what she used to wear in high school. A shirt into which her long legs seemed to just disappear, no obvious articles of clothing to be seen, though he knew she was wearing a pair of running shorts beneath them. There was no wayward strap of a bra to be seen on her shoulders. To anyone who didn't know better, that shirt might have been all she was wearing.

The tantalizing thought stirred a hunger in him. One which was all too rare for his liking now that he was in a constant state of exhaustion from his work, one which hadn't been acknowledged much since her pregnancy had been revealed. He felt a smirk come over his face as he watched her. Putting the massive work load out of his mind, he pushed back his chair and stood, walking over behind her. He gently ran a hand down her arm, though she didn't immediately react to his presence. It wasn't until he snaked his other hand around her waist to grasp her hip that she seemed to realize that he wasn't just coming to say hello.

He gently tugged her towards him by her hip, pressing himself against her back and feeling the thrill of excitement rush through his veins. She quickly stopped washing the dishes and planted both hands firmly on the edge of the sink with a light giggle as he bent in to kiss the base of her neck. "What are you doing?" she asked, a light tone of excitement coloring her voice.

He pulled a little harder on her hip, running his other hand up beneath her arm and running it over her breast. She gasped in shock at the touch, and her body immediately responded. She pushed back into him, he could feel her nipple harden at the touch, and he could instantly smell a change in her pheromones, telling him that she was ready for what was about to happen. "You told me I need to take a break, right?" he asked suggestively, and he could see goosebumps on her arms and neck rising at the sound of his voice.

"Yeah, but-" she began in a voice barely over a whisper, but he cut her off by biting the side of her neck gently. The response was immediate, she shuddered and gasped, and he saw her grip onto the sink until her knuckles turned white. He released his bite, and kissed where he'd left a slightly red mark. Videl breathlessly said, "That's not quite what I had in mind."

Gohan gently turned her around and wrapped his large hands around her, pressing her into him by the small of her back. She needed no further prodding, and instantly wrapped her own arms around the back of his neck, pulling him down and kissing him deeply. It'd been far, _far_ too long since Gohan had felt like this. This was something that he _needed_ right now, and Videl was all too willing to cooperate. He reached down and grasped her beneath her butt, lifting her up to him. Her legs instantly wrapped around him, locking her ankles behind his back as their kiss grew in intensity. Their lips only parted when Gohan placed her firmly on the counter, still locked between her legs, so that he could once more go in for her neck.

Her hands grasped onto the back of his head, or clung to his shirt as she gasped in pleasure once more. She began pulling his shirt up to reveal his bare chest. He obliged her, lifting his hands up enough for the offending clothing to come free from him. They immediately resumed once it was gone, and Gohan ran his own hands underneath her shirt, feeling the warmth of her soft skin under his fingers as their lips met once more.

So lost in the moment was he that he barely noticed when she abruptly broke from the kiss to stare over his shoulder into the living room. It wasn't until she started slapping him on the shoulder repeatedly that he realized that she wasn't participating any more. He paused and looked at her in shock, a feeling of dejection washing over him at the interruption. But she was staring at something, horrified, and an even combination of dread and irritation filled him. With his hands still on her beneath her shirt, he turned at the waist to look at what she was seeing, and felt a cold shock ride down his spine like a bolt of lightning.

She was staring at the TV, and for a good reason. A large caption across the bottom read "Terror Attack!" in bold letters over the image of a burning building. Dreading the worst, he gently picked her up off the counter to stand on her own again before rushing to the living room and turning up the television.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, this just in: There has been an attack on a community gathering in a small town called Gourdsville, where members of the community had gathered at a local church for a meeting of some unknown description. Information is still being gathered at the site. We go live now to field reporter Angelina James."_

Gohan felt the burn of anger in his gut at the mention of the reporter's name, and sat down on the edge of their couch, still clutching the remote in his hand. The image switched to the blonde woman he'd grown to despise, standing before a huge burning pile of rubble, which firefighters were still struggling to contain.

" _It's a terrible scene here, as firefighters continue to battle the flames that consumed the structure. This building was presumably holding a congregation of nearly a hundred people. So far, there has not been any report of anyone leaving the building since the firefighters arrived. According to some of the local families who live down the way from here, the meeting today was to be one where they would be planning a peaceful protest against the Saiyan invaders. Notably, many of the men and women who showed up were locals who wanted to join with the protest group known as the Anti-Saiyan Coalition in response to the Saiyans recent announcement that they'd brought a fighting force here, reportedly as a 'precautionary' move against an attack."_

Gohan felt his blood boiling hotter with every word that came from her mouth.

" _According to one witness, one of the firemen behind me, the fire was started after a loud explosion, which echoed through the valley that the town is situated in. Because of the trees surrounding the building, nobody was able to see exactly what caused the explosion in question, but our witness says that he saw an individual fleeing the scene through the forest as they were driving up. Unfortunately, by the time emergency crews arrived on the scene, the structure had already collapsed, and the fire had spread, leaving no time for any sort of pursuit. There's hope that with the fire doused, the fire crews may be able to get into the parts of the building that are still standing in search of survivors, though it looks right now as if there is only going to be bad news as the evening continues. Currently, the local police chief suspects that there was foul play on the part of the Saiyans, considering the event taking place tonight."_

The screen cut back to the first woman, who proved to be a thin lady with a bright red bun atop her overly made-up features.

" _Thank you, Angelina. More on that as events unfold. Truly tragic, ladies and gentlemen. Let us all pray that the emergency workers find someone alive in that mess, and that whoever started this sees justice."_

The woman on screen paused a moment, and looked off screen, no doubt being told something by someone off to the left of the camera. She nodded a couple times before looking back at the camera and starting up again.

" _New information coming in on these terrible events, we take you now to our screening room, where they are currently receiving a video from social media that claims to have the perpetrator caught on camera."_

Gohan stared hard, in complete belief as the image on screen changed. It depicted a fairly serene scene as someone was walking through the woods. It appeared to be attached to the cameraman's chest, no doubt for the owner to capture wildlife in the mountain regions. Through the camera's microphone, you could hear the breathing of the man holding the camera, and occasionally see his hands brushing away some piece of foliage. Only a couple seconds into it, there was faint yelling being heard through the trees, and the cameraman stopped. He turned on the spot a few times before cautiously moving towards the source of the yelling.

A piercing scream of a woman punctuated the silence, and a flock of birds above took flight in panic. The cameraman rushed forward, passing through the trees with a practiced ease and a muttered curse. He passed through a bush and the structure which they had seen burning earlier was there, standing at a good height of at least thirty feet. Gohan instantly recognized it as a religious building of some sort, and a large congregation of cars were gathered outside. As the cameraman approached, bright flashes of light flashed past the windows, punctuated by the sound of detonations and more screams.

The cameraman froze, and you could hear his breathing hitch at the same time as Gohan's did watching it. A spatter of blood flashed across one of the windows, and from the other side of the glass, a man's hand pounded on it, but to no avail. Another burst of light, and the hand slid down the pane, smearing fresh blood as it went. _"Oh god…"_ groaned the cameraman, and Gohan couldn't blame him for the fear he was showing. There were more screams, and then the roof of the building exploded upwards, the shockwave sending the hiker onto his back, where the camera was left to aim up at the sky.

The screams went silent, and the sound of falling debris and burning wood filled the air to accompany the large cloud of smoke that was rising upwards. The cameraman got back up to his feet and promptly hid behind a tree, peeking out enough to just see what was going on. Moments later, a figure appeared from the building, shrouded in flame and barely visible. But it was undeniable, and Gohan felt his blood chill at he image. Out from the wreckage and the carnage was a terribly burned and blood-drenched image of his father wearing a simple farming outfit. Goku stood before the collapsing, his black hair standing in it's distinguished absurd fashion, staring in at the destruction with flames dancing in his eyes. His head turned towards the cameraman, like he knew he was there, hiding in the bushes. But those uncharacteristically cold eyes glared for only a few moments before he turned and ran the opposite direction into the woods, foregoing flight.

The cameraman seemed at a loss for a moment, turning from the burning building and back to the woods several times as he seemed to be at a loss for what to do. Finally, he decided that what he'd seen was enough when the sound of approaching fire engines could be heard, and turned towards the woods to break off into a sprint. And then the footage froze. The screen changed suddenly back towards the woman with the red hair, who was again speaking to someone off screen. She looked back up at the camera, her features dumbstruck. She nervously shuffled some papers on her desk around before speaking in morose tones.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, we at ZTV wish to apologize to our viewers at home. We, in the pursuit of revealing the truth, did not properly review the footage we just showed, and wish to apologize to those viewing at home for the gruesome nature of it. We are learning now that the man seen in the footage was identified by many on the account page where this was posted as one Son Goku, a former world martial arts champion, and indeed, a Saiyan. There is no word at this time as to who owns the page in question, or the current location of Goku. Authorities are currently searching for his whereab-"_

The TV cut abruptly off as Gohan nearly crushed the remote in his hand, gritting his teeth and staring at the blank screen in total shock. _There's no way… Not dad, he wouldn't… It's not like him at all!_

"Gohan?" Videl's desperate whisper reached him, but merely passed through his mind unheeded, like she wasn't there at all. He stood up, and he could feel the air around him shimmering in his rage, his sense of betrayal. It wasn't possible for that to be his father, but it looked just like him. There was no time to edit a video like that, and definitely not to that level of clarity and perfection.

"Gohan!" said Videl, firmer. He turned his eyes upon her, standing behind the couch and covering her mouth in shock, her eyes glossed over as she stared at the blank screen, her mind obviously trying to process what she just saw. She shook her head and sniffled before turning her gaze upon him and crossing her arms. "It wasn't him," she said simply, her jaw quaking as she fought to control her emotions.

Gohan gritted his teeth and fought with himself, not at all sure what to say in response. He knew it to be true. He'd have sensed his father's ki rising if this had happened. But it still didn't make sense, and it was convincing enough at least for someone who didn't know any better.

Videl rounded the couch and pulled him in to hug him tightly around the middle, and he could feel a warm wetness on his chest from where her tears had leaked onto his still-bare chest. "It's not him, it's not!" she said, obviously desperate for what she was saying to be true, a hint of uncertainty in her words. He set his jaw and gently peeled her off of him, holding her out at arms-length and nodding, "I know..."

They stared at each other for a moment, his intent clear on his face and her understanding in hers. He was going to leave, going to go find his father and see what he could do to try and help. He took a deep breath and left her, retrieving his T-shirt that had been removed only a few minutes ago in that moment of reprieve between them. He paused when he heard her sob once, muffled behind her hand no doubt. Steeling his resolve, he donned the shirt and immediately stepped out of the front door, searching with his ki for his father.

It only took a few seconds, and one last glance towards his home, Gohan pressed the first two fingers of his right hand to his forehead and vanished in an instant. He reemerged into the blinding light, standing atop a ridge along the peaks of the mountains surrounding his childhood home. Recognizing it immediately, he looked up towards the top peak above him, and began the short ascent to the top. He sensed that both Goten and Ria were with him, and soon passed the peak up to find the three of them locked in a light sparring match, the twins versus their father. As he expected, they were all dressed for the fight, Goku in his usual orange, Goten in his long sleeve mock-up of his father's gi, and Ria in a fighting kimono reminiscent of their mother's.

Gohan wasted no time, making his presence known by flaring his ki wildly and landing atop the rocks to await them, crossing his arms. Goten was the first to realize he was there, and immediately stopped the fight. Goku and Ria both looked at Goten, then down at Gohan with breathless smiles on their faces. All three dropped from their altitude and landed near Gohan, still rosy-cheeked and short of breath.

"Man Gohan, you missed out on a good spar there-", started Goku.

"Dad! There's a problem." He stated grimly, watching Goku's face for any tell or nervous reaction. As he expected, Goku's attitude immediately switched to what Gohan recognized as his serious, fighting mindset. Something which both Goten and Ria picked up on as well. They looked between the two men anxiously.

"What? What's going on, Gohan?" asked Goku, his voice sharp.

"It's…" Gohan hesitated, unsure of what to say. He couldn't get it out, and groaned in frustration. Goku clasped his shoulder firmly, and Gohan swallowed past the lump in his throat before saying shakily, "There's been an attack."

All three of the others tensed at the words, and Goten immediately piped up, "Who? Why couldn't we sense it?"

Gohan shook his head and ground out, "I couldn't sense it either, Videl and I just saw it. There was a broadcast on TV, it… It was bad."

Goku nodded his understanding and planted his hands on his hips, looking out over the mountains, as if he could see the events unfolding. "How many?" he asked simply, and Gohan knew what he was getting at. "A lot… They said it was over a hundred. At an anti-Saiyan rally or something. Not far from here either."

He could see Goku's fists clench harder, the veins in his forearms popping out with the strain. His head bowed, and Gohan could feel his father's anger and disappointment, no doubt for failing to sense the attack when it was happening.

"It's worse, dad…" continued Gohan, casting a nervous glance at Goten and Ria, who were watching their father with concern on their faces. "It's… The video, they saw who did it."

Goku turned towards him and gave him one of the harshest looks that Gohan had ever seen pass his father's features. "Who?" he asked, his voice low. Gohan couldn't bring himself to say it, he felt his own throat swelling with frustration and anger. Goku turned around fully and advanced on him. "Who?" he repeated, harsher still.

Gohan took a deep breath to steady himself, and simply said, "You."

The silence left in the wake of the statement hung heavily in the air, punctured only by the sound of the wind atop the mountain as Goku stared back at Gohan in shock. "Me?" he asked incredulously, his eyes searching Gohan's for some sort of explanation. When Gohan didn't, he shook his head and said, "That's not possible. I've been here for hours. How could they catch me doing something when I'm not even there?"

Gohan looked skyward, as if asking for the answer himself, replying, "I don't know, dad. I saw it myself, but I can't believe it. Whoever did this was smart about it. Every detail they've gone through makes it look like you, with all the motivations and circumstances lining up too. They're already calling it a violent response to the ANTISA movement, foul play or something like that."

Gohan knew his father was calculating everything, trying to see a way to discredit the video and prove that he wasn't there. Likely, his plan was simply to go find anyone who would listen and tell them he wasn't there. But Gohan knew better than to think that something like that would actually work now. After all, _he'd_ nearly been convinced by the video, and it wasn't until he really thought about what he'd seen that he had concluded it was impossible. Someone without a knowledge of Goku's personality and motivations would easily be swayed by the video, providing, in their eyes, irrefutable proof of what ANTISA was trying to say.

"You need to lay low, dad. Give some time for us to figure out what really happened. We'll get down to the bottom of this," said Gohan grimly. Goku looked like he was about to protest, but Gohan cut him off before he could utter a word, "And you need to trust me on this one. After what I saw, people will be out for blood. We may become a public target for it, and I don't know who we're going to be able to turn to for help. We can't fight this one with our fists, not yet. Someone is gunning for us, and until we figure out who, we're playing in their arena, not ours."

Goku set his jaw and considered his words for a moment, before something seemed to strike him, and his eyes went wide. "Wait, if you think they're going to be coming for us, then that makes _all_ of us a target," he said quickly, his eyes turning in the direction of their home. Gohan immediately knew what he meant, and with a pang of panic in his gut, searched out for his ki.

"Shit," he grunted as his mother's ki was nowhere to be found. He knew it was possible that they were just too far away to make it out against the surrounding forest, but it sent a panic through him nonetheless.

"Grab on!" yelled Goku suddenly, and all three of the Son children grasped onto his outstretched hand and prepared for the plunge into darkness. A moment later, and they appeared directly in front of the little dome house of the Son residence. They immediately broke into action, Goku bursting through the front door, which showed no sign of forced entry. Gohan followed closely, telling the twins to go about searching the land around the home.

The home was deserted. There was no sign of a struggle, no broken glass, not even a picture out of place to be found. But ten minutes of searching and calling revealed that Chi Chi was not there. "We've got to find her," said Goku desperately, turning for the front door again. Goku and Gohan were about to make their departure when the television set burst to life without their prompting.

" _Good evening, Son Goku."_ came a voice from the box, distorted and unrecognizable. It was definitely a male, but Gohan couldn't make out any other details. They both froze, staring at the screen, Goku with his hand on the doorknob. _"I see that you've noticed something is… missing."_ The screen showed an image of Chi Chi as she was during the world martial arts tournament just before Buu arrived. " _Don't you worry, she has not been harmed yet. This is a measure of caution on my part, a fail-safe, if you will. We met once before, you and I, and you bested me at the expense of hundreds of lives. Lives which I still lament to this day. Today, I returned the favor in part. No doubt, you have already seen the news. Now we begin our little game. Your wife will play the part of the prize, and you will have to win in order to reclaim her. Break the rules, and you'll never see her again, that I promise you."_

Gohan felt his blood boiling, the rage which he'd fought so hard to keep contained began to boil up to the surface, and he could sense his father's rising too. The kids outside, sensing the surge in power, went to come inside and join them, but were stopped by Goku, who barked at them, "No! Stay out there, both of you!"

" _The rules are simple and few, Goku. If you try to attack me, she dies. If your try to force an answer of her whereabouts from anyone, she dies. If you bring the force of the Saiyan army down upon us, she dies. The only way for you to see her again, is to give yourself in to the mercy of the human race. Submit yourself to the world, beg for mercy for your transgressions against humanity. And when it's all said and done, make sure that the Saiyans leave Earth, back to whatever part of hell they crawled out of. These are the rules of the game."_

"Son of bitch…" grunted Gohan through gritted teeth, willing himself to not go tearing the planet apart bit by bit right then and there. Goku had unknowingly crushed the doorknob in his hand, the crackling energy of his aura burning around him.

" _I'll see you fall, Saiyan. For all the things you've done to me, all the pain I've gone through for your success. I'll see you break, a slave to your own failure, to suffer as I have… Oh, and before I leave you, one more thing: Don't take too long to make your move. I'm giving you exactly one-hundred and twenty hours, that's five days, to respond. Your time runs out when hers does."_

Gohan immediately rushed towards the television, gaining some of his wits about him and searching for whatever means of transmission was being used. _They have to have left something here, radio transmitter or a thumb drive or something,_ he thought furiously, _If I find it, I might be able to trace it back to it's owner._ Goku hadn't moved, still staring at the screen with utter disbelief on his face. With a jolt of recognition, He found a device plugged into the back of the TV that definitely didn't belong. It was a network chip, antenna jutting out of the top of the device. He reached out to pull it from its slot, and was temporarily blinded when the small box detonated in his hand.

"Fuck!" he yelled angrily, feeling the shrapnel and force of the blast shred into his hand. He spun away from the TV, smelling the acrid aroma of burnt plastic and silicon, nursing his wounded hand. He gritted his teeth and pulled a large chunk of plastic from the base of his palm, groaning in pain as the burnt skin started to blister and bleed. Goku immediately rushed over to check on his son, but Gohan waved him down, gasping out, "I'll be alright. It just stings is all."

He stared at the destroyed device with despair, wondering how they were going to get out of this one. He'd guessed correctly, someone was gunning for them, and Goku had been made a scapegoat. Normally, he'd have started an investigation, gathering intel, following people, using force when necessary. But now, with his mother's life on the line, there was no time for that. They needed to find a solution fast.

"Coward." Grunted Goku angrily, his voice carrying a venom that was very seldom heard by anyone. "How dare he? How _dare_ he go after Chi Chi. To go after a non-combatant, after someone who never should have been involved… He's left us no choice, he's too prepared…" he trailed off, and Gohan felt a cold shock as something washed over him. The only thing which could have made this situation worse, was if they had prepared for them to overcome the odds, and find his mother. If they'd taken more than one hostage.

"… FUCK!" he roared suddenly, and pressed his first two fingers to his forehead, popping out of existence once more. _No! NO NO NO NO!_ he thought desperately, kicking himself in the head for not preparing for this, for not realizing that he wasn't exempt from the rules of the game either.

He burst through the front door of his home, not even bothering to use the doorknob, and felt his panic climb to even greater heights. Their home was a mess. Dishes were shattered and scattered across the floor. One of the walls had had it's drywall crushed in. Parts of the ceiling had come down, no doubt from a harsh impact, and there was blood on the floor. But for all the struggle that must have occurred here, Videl wasn't. He stared around, as if willing her to pop out of hiding to exclaim, "Just kidding!" But it didn't happen. He rushed into the living room where their television was, and began searching immediately for something, _anything_ he could use.

" _Good evening, Son Gohan."_ Came the same male voice that he'd heard only moments ago at his father's house. " _Thank you, for the few moments it took you to leave your beloved wife alone, unescorted. No doubt, she put up a fight, even with the sedative rushing through her system,"_ Gohan looked back to the puddle of blood on the floor, and wondered if it was Videl's, or one of her assailants. _"There's a game going on now, son of Goku, and I suggest you learn the rules. Find your father, learn the stakes, and follow the rules, and your wife won't be harmed further._ "

Gohan's breath built rapidly in pace, and without warning, he roared and rushed back through the house and out the front door, taking to the air. He left a burning trail in the sky behind him as he searched through the trees, following roadways below, and constantly looking for his wife's ki. But no matter how hard he concentrated, she wasn't there. Desperation began to well up in him, and with tears in his eyes, he roared his rage to the sky, rumbling the planet below him and shattering the windows of nearby cars and buildings. Men and women below him stared up in terror at the burning aura, and across the planet, Son Gohan's rage could be felt in the bones of every human being.

 **A/N: Alrighty, hope it wasn't too much for you guys at once. Can't promise the next one will be up nearly as quick, but I can promise I won't go a half year without an update again. Until next time, have a fantastic day.**


	12. Crumb Trail

**Howdy folks! So it's been a hectic few months. Never thought that engineering school would be kicking my ass as hard as it is, but here we are. I admit, this one took a lot longer to write because I got to about 16K words and realized that I could put a bunch of the stuff into other chapters. So, after about a month of editing whenever I got the chance, this is the result. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 12: Trail of Crumbs**

Videl felt a peculiar sensation washing over her. She had a sense of vertigo that made her feel as if she were being tossed in the surf off of Satan City's port, a strange muted sound assaulted her throbbing head. It was as if someone had filled her ears with fluid. She could make out the sounds of someone yelling, a woman's voice, she thought. She tried to open her eyes, but they refused to respond, leaving her in a veil of darkness. A different voice made itself known, the gruff tenor of a man. She tried to move, but found that her limbs were likewise unresponsive.

 _Where… am I? What's going on?_ She thought groggily. Something about this whole situation seemed vaguely familiar, and it sent a wave of panic through her. Flashbacks of the time she'd been drugged at her eighteenth birthday party came parading through her mind, and she felt a wave of nausea at the thoughts. She'd been on the treacherous road to sexual assault that night at the hands of one of her classmates, and it had only been Gohan who had seen it coming. Only Gohan who had intervened and stopped it before it could happen.

 _Gohan…_

She felt her hands twitch as she tried to sit up, though no other movement came. Some of her senses were starting to come back. She still couldn't see, but she could smell now. Wherever she was, there was a metallic tang to the smell in the air, and the harsh scent of bleach and other cleaning supplies. Her hearing was starting to sharpen, and over the voices, she could hear the faint beeping of what sounded like a heart monitor.

 _ **Beep… Beep…**_ "… What are you trying to tell me, woman?" came the gruff males voice.

"Look. You can't hurt her! I'm telling you, she-" began the woman she had been hearing earlier, but she was cut off. "And I'm telling _you_ , it's not your decision to make! The boss wants to make sure that she stays sedated and unwilling to fight, and after what she did to my guys out there, I plan to make sure he gets what he wants!"

Videl listened with rapt attention, doing her best to focus and retain as much as she could from this conversation that she was sure she wasn't supposed to be hearing. She fought to keep her emotions in check, lest the steady beeping of the monitor give away her consciousness.

"It's not that simple, captain!" yelled the woman desperately.

"Really?" roared the captain, "It seems pretty god damned simple to me! We went in there, she beat the shit out of three of my men, one is in critical condition and being rushed into surgery, and now you're telling me that she shouldn't be treated like the bitch she is?! Where do you get off?"

"Look! Look at this! Look at these hormone levels! Her blood sugar is down, she's got a fever like she's fighting an infection!"

"So? We shot her with two of those tranq rounds, she's going to have all sorts of issues righ-"

"Dammit, you moron! She's pregnant!" yelled the woman, who Videl guessed was a nurse, or a doctor. She felt her heart skip a beat as the realizations set in. Whoever the man was, she was now his captive. The events before she'd blacked out started coming back, along with an aching sensation in her right cheek and her back, and the tell-tale pain in her hands and wrists that resulted from fighting. The monitor started to beep a little faster as things started falling into place.

 _I was attacked, right after Gohan left. Five… Six men? Masked, black gear. They shot me twice, I thought I was going to die then… But it was a tranquilizer. That explains what happened, but who are they? What do they want with me?_ _Oh kami, what about the baby?! What if they…_

Her thoughts trailed off as the beeping started to pick up it's pace alongside her panic, and there was a long drawn out pause in the conversation. She still couldn't open her eyes, but could feel both of their eyes on her.

"She's waking up," said the woman, much quitter than before, "If we're going to have this conversation, then we need to take it-… Wait!"

Videl could feel his approach before the woman had yelled at him, and knew that she was about to get hit. The blow came to the side of her face as the captain slapped her hard. She couldn't control her body, and felt the strain in her neck from her head snapping around. A strong hand grasped her chin and forced her head back to center roughly, pressing her jaw up until she felt a sharp pain in her teeth.

"Wake up, bitch! I've got a score to settle with you." Growled the captain viciously.

"Captain!" shrieked the woman, now much closer. Videl still couldn't open her eyes, much less move or speak. She felt helpless, completely at the mercy of the Captain, and she knew _that_ was in short supply. The heart rate monitor started beeping even faster, reflecting the terror she was feeling.

"Captain, let her go!"

"Piss off woman!"

There was a pause, and she could feel the captain's hand tighten, to the point that she thought her jaw was going to break. Then the woman spoke up again, in a much more professional, business-like tone, "She's a hostage, Captain. If she dies, not only do we lose any information she might have, but you'll send her husband into a rage that nobody from this planet could stop. You will kill us all if you kill her, not to mention the child she's carrying. Everything that's been planned will have been for nothing."

It shocked Videl that this woman, whom she hadn't even laid eyes on yet, was defending her, trying to save her life. Were it not for the fact that she seemed to be in on whatever plot had gotten her abducted in the first place, she would have been inclined to hug her.

Regardless of Videl's feelings about the woman, her words had the desired effect. The captain growled out, "Fine… But this isn't over," and released his grip on her face. Her jaw ached even more, and she could tell by the warm rush of blood in her skin that it was likely swollen from whatever blows she must have received at her home. The sound of an electrically locked door buzzing open assaulted her ears, followed by the sound of booted feet and the harsh crash of a steel door slamming shut.

In the silence that followed, Videl could feel the woman's eyes on her, and heard her sigh heavily. She heard the sound of feet around her, and the woman started speaking to her in much gentler tones.

"I'm sorry about that Videl. I… Well, I doubt anything I say is going to convince you to trust me, but I _am_ here to help you. Specifically, I was hired by these goons to… what was it they called it? See to the medical needs of criminals incarcerated here? It seems that parts of my contract with them were omitted." She paused again, and Videl could feel by the sharp tug on her forearm that the woman was manipulating what was certainly an IV. "I'm starting you on some fluids right now, I've got to try and get that sedative out of your system before any lasting damage is done to your baby."

A cold sensation flushed into her arm as the fluid started pumping. While the woman fell silent for a while, doing whatever Videl could guess, things started coming back under her control. The first thing she realized was that she was parched, and felt like she hadn't eaten in days. She began wondering how long she'd been unconscious. She felt her limbs were starting to respond to her impulses. It was at this point that Videl realized that she was restrained, straps holding her down onto whatever cold surface she was laying on. More than that, she could tell that her shirt had been removed, leaving only her underwear to cover her.

"My name is Doctor Jeanine. I would pull those straps, but I'm afraid they've got them locked. Short of cutting them, I can't get you out." She said sympathetically.

"Hnnn." She barely managed to make a sound, and was startled at how raspy and worn her voice felt. A weight seemed to lift from her head, and her eyes cracked slowly open. Everything seemed blurry, the bright fluorescent bulbs recessed into what looked like a concrete ceiling were beating down on her. A shadow was hovering over her, and after a moment, her vision started to clear. She finally saw the woman who claimed to be helping her.

Jeanine had dark skin, close to the color of milk chocolate, and her pitch black hair was pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. She was wearing – oddly enough – a plaid button-up shirt, and what appeared to be denim. A stethoscope hung around her neck, and there was a red badge pinned to the pocket over her left breast. She seemed thin to Videl, like it'd been a while since she'd seen a solid meal.

"Don't try too much yet, okay? I understand, you're probably scared, and more than a little angry… But any wrong move and they'll sedate you again. Please, for your own sake, don't try anything," said Jeanine, and Videl was surprised to see the worried look up towards the door the captain had left through before she turned back and whispered, "at least not yet."

Videl groaned and attempted to lift her head, but was unable to. Recognizing she was still far too weak to even do that, she fought with her uncooperative mouth to speak, "W-who… are…"

"Shhh, Videl. Just chill for a minute, let your body boot back up. I'm going to do a couple tests, I want to be sure your baby is okay. How far along are you? Just say yes or no, first trimester?"

Videl hesitated before grunting out a painful "yes". There was no point in trying to pretend right now, as she saw it, her only real chance of making it out of here alive right now was to play along until an opportunity presented itself.

"Okay, less than two months?" She struggled out another yes. "Shit… Okay, I will have to have a talk with my _employer_ ," she spat the word venomously, "about your treatment. Hopefully what they did to you isn't going to harm the baby, but it's still early. I don't want there to be any further complications, not while I'm here to try and stop it."

There was another pause in the conversation while Jeanine rummaged around outside of Videl's field of view, pushing some machines around by the sound of it. She returned to Videl, standing over her once more and looking her in the eye. "Alright, Videl, I'll give you the run-down while I'm working. At least, what I think I can get away with telling you. My employer is a private organization – I don't know the name of it, considering the position I was interviewed for was a state penitentiary – and I have since been forced underground with them for, 'security' reasons. Whatever they are, I'd say they're more of a private army, and they've got some tech here that I've never seen before."

She paused as she pulled up Videl's shirt and started running an ultrasound over her belly, looking off over Videl's head at the monitor. She looked tense for a moment, and Videl struggled to turn her head, fearing that what she would see. She managed to turn her head just enough to see the screen out of the corner of her eye, and felt a flood of relief when the image focused in enough to see a tiny gummy-bear looking blob with a rapidly beating heart contained within.

Jeanine sighed in relief, "Well, at least there's that… It's no coincidence to me that you were captured on the same day that that video of Goku was released. It's a little too convenient, considering the family ties."

Videl stared back at her for a moment, trying to piece together what she was being told. By the sounds of it, this woman had no clue what she'd walked into. But then, there was the possibility that she was playing dumb, trying to appeal to Videl so that she would talk later. Videl breathed heavily a couple times, then managed to whisper out, "ANTISA".

Jeanine nodded and said quietly, "I thought of that too, but it just didn't make sense to me. ANTISA has been trying to handle everything on the political side of things, I find it hard to believe they have the means to get all this hardware they've got down here. Tanks, guns, aircraft, all sorts of stuff I've never seen the likes of before, on par with or better than the stuff coming from CC."

Videl searched her face, looking for any sort of deceit, but she looked genuine. If anything, it seemed like the doctor was simply as lost as she was for an explanation. Videl averted her eyes and started moving her limbs more to try and test her motor skills again, and was pleased to feel that most of her muscles were twitching and pulling at her command again. She turned her head about slowly so as to not strain her neck, and took a good look around her. Barren walls of concrete greeted her everywhere she looked, not even a decent paint on them to brighten the room. The floor seemed to be polished though, and the door which the captain had retreated through was a heavy looking steel door with a massively thick pane of glass looking out that was only about the size of a brick.

"Kinda dank and dungeon-y, isn't it?" asked Jeanine with a grim hint of a smile on her lips, looking towards the door.

Videl cleared her throat as best she could and said, in a slightly stronger voice now, "Mmhm. Where, though?"

Jeanine turned back to her with a look of guilt and said, "Even if I knew exactly where, I couldn't tell you. Don't get me wrong, I want to help you as much as I can, but I want to keep my own head squarely on my shoulders, too. All I know is that we're way below the surface here, and all I saw on the way in was forest. Thick enough to keep most of the daylight from reaching me after I'd gotten out of the car. But for now, don't worry about that. I'm going to try and clean you up. It might hurt a bit, considering you're pretty beat up. They didn't exactly give me a chance before they brought you in here, and you've still got blood all over you. I just want to make sure you don't get any infections from your injuries."

Videl didn't respond, but allowed herself to be cleaned up. Not that she had much of a choice in the matter. She gritted her teeth together as Jeanine wiped her off with a rag, poking parts of her skin that were most definitely swollen, and very painful. Ignoring the pain, she started thinking hard about how she was going to get out. And more importantly, how this had even happened in the first place.

The why was obvious, she was being held as a bargaining chip against Gohan and the others. But what was really eating at her was even more disconcerting, and something she'd never thought she would experience. _Why couldn't Gohan find me? Why couldn't he help me when I was attacked? What stopped him? There's nothing left in the universe that he can't handle, so what kept him?_

She felt more than a little let down by the thought, wondering in some dark part of her mind whether or not Gohan had elected to respond at all if he had sensed that something was wrong. Anger started welling up inside her, and she started longing for a solid face for her fists to smash in. _No, it's not like him,_ she thought, fighting back her own emotions. _Not at all, if he'd sensed what was happening, he'd have come running._

"You know," said Jeanine quietly, not looking directly at Videl, with a peculiar expression on her face, "in spite of what you're currently going through, I have to say I envy you a little. Always have."

Videl turned her eyes upon the doctor quizzically. Her unspoken retort was understood, and Jeanine gave her a weak smile, "Well, you're a powerful woman. And you've gone and hooked up with a… well, a very… _very_ powerful man. It's like something out of a fantasy, honestly. I mean, regarding your husband's wrath? Right before you were brought in, the whole place was shaking. I thought the whole structure was going to collapse. When I asked what was happening, they said that he was attacking us."

Videl furrowed her brow, staring back, watching the woman's eyes trace back and forth as the thoughts in her head passed before them. Jeanine continued, "Of course, it wasn't until after everything had calmed down that they told me he wasn't anywhere near here. I still have a hard time understanding it, but it's like we could just… feel him. From here."

Jeanine's weak smile faded into a grim expression and she glanced at the door, resting her hands in her lap and dropping her voice further, "I'll just say I'm glad he wasn't, because if he'd come here, I'm sure I would be dead by now. I can promise you this, when the time comes, I'm going to find the fastest way out of here, and I'm gone. I just hope that you make it out of this whole thing alive… That'll be my one solace."

Videl stared hard at her. In spite of the words the woman was saying, they only served to fuel her anger further. "You…" she began unsteadily, "have no idea… What he's going to do… I've seen him… do things… terrible things… to people, who hadn't even… wronged him."

"Shh" began Jeanine, grasping her arm gently, her dark complexion looking just a little bit pale, "I know… That's why I want out. Now, save your breath Videl. Let your wounds heal, I'm going to see if I can convince these vultures to let me feed you."

Videl clamped her mouth shut and hesitated, but decided that it probably was for the best. She still wasn't fully out of her groggy state of mind, and she desperately wanted to eat something, even if they wouldn't let her out of restraints to do it. Jeanine gave her a sad sort of smile that Videl was certain was supposed to be reassuring before returning to the large metal door and knocking on it hard. The buzzer rang through the air again, and with a single backwards glance, she disappeared through it. As the door slammed shut, the lights in her cell went out, and she was left in the ringing silence, with only the light through the little porthole and her thoughts to keep her company.

 **ELSEWHERE**

Lime calmly opened the door in front of her with a quick scan of her eye, the large metal and glass panes receding into the wall as she was allowed access into the Capsule corp. research building. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Krillin was still right behind her, his shiny new badge pinned to the front of his Satan City police uniform.

"Lime, I don't want to sound like a pessimist here, but what do you hope for _me_ to accomplish. I mean, I'm just the rookie on the force, and it's already well established that I'm Goku's oldest friend. Even in a professional capacity, I doubt I'd be able to help him out." He stated glumly. The dark circles under his eyes belayed the sleepless night that he had experienced, just like all the others.

They'd received a bit of unfortunate news the morning before from Dende, who'd left his lookout for one of the extremely rare occasions in which he needed to interact with them. They were surprised to find that Goku had thought to simply use Shenron to wish Videl and Chi Chi back into custody. But there was a major catch. The Kais had heard about many of the wishes that had been made on the Dragon balls, including some of the more petty ones done long ago, and Dende had been told to put a stop to it. As it turned out, messing with the natural order of the universe tended to bring about more problems than it ever solved. Dende wasn't entirely sure how high it went, but he'd stated very plainly that they were not to use the Dragon Balls except in a world-endangering situation. The news had not been well received. Gohan, who had been attempting to track down his wife before the visit, had gotten his hopes up, and abruptly smashed on the spot. A spurt of anger which had left its mark on the inside of Capsule Corp.

in the end, they'd agreed that they had gotten too comfortable with the safety-net that was Shenron, and the ability to undo any damage done, no matter how insignificant it was in the long run. If word had gone higher than even the Supreme Kais, then perhaps they needed to be reminded of how the universe worked, regardless of how little they liked it. Lime shook her head and continued into the building, saying shortly, "He's been at this since she went missing, Krillin. He hasn't slept, eaten, or left that damn computer. His dad is hanging out on the lookout until we can sort things out, and he blatantly refuses, not even to get his hand looked after. At this point, I'm willing to try anything."

She was, of course, referring to Gohan. And she was right. After his discovery that Videl had been taken, Gohan had spent every waking moment trying to track her down. The first few hours had been spent scouring the globe, searching for any sign of her ki or his mother's. Failing that, he'd gone straight to Dende to see if he knew what was happening, but the little guardian had been unable to provide any information for him, much to everyone's disappointment. Even Dende seemed confused as to why he hadn't seen anything happen, stating that at the time it had happened, he'd been meditating with Piccolo, trying to extend his senses as far as they could go. Out of any further leads, Gohan had brought the transmitter device, still connected to his own TV, to the Capsule Corporation buildings, and had started trying to break into it.

They passed through another door to find the research lab in total disarray. There were papers scattered everywhere, books tossed about, and one overturned desk that had until recently been bolted to the floor. There were still chunks of concrete scattered about from their abrupt and violent removal. Bulma stood by the door, her arms crossed in front of her chest and an anguished look on her face as she watched Gohan furiously running test after test, running through hundreds of lines of code and searching for any clue he could get. At her side, Sproute stood as her recently appointed bodyguard, as silent and sullen as ever, though now she was dressed in a baggy black hoody and jeans so as to look like your average human. As they entered the room, Bulma turned her head sharply towards them, and gave them a hopeless look.

"Hey Bulma, any news?" asked Lime hopefully.

Bulma shook her head and looked back towards Gohan, who was still staring intently at the computer monitor. "Nothing. It's incredible, he's gone through enough data in the last few hours to fill up an entire hard-drive. He's run so many different encryption algorithms since I got here, there might not be any others for him to try anymore. Hell, I suspect he's run most of mine a few times over each. He even resorted to trying to go through that video of Goku attacking that church, looking for anything that could give him a hint."

Krillin groaned quietly and muttered under his breath, "Man, I feel bad for whoever decided that this was a good idea… Once he gets a target, he's gonna bite and hold on 'til they're in shreds."

Inwardly, Lime had to agree, but at the moment she was too tired to really let it show. She sighed and grasped onto Krillin's wrist, dragging him closer to Gohan, who didn't seem to notice their approach. They got to within a couple feet of him when he suddenly looked over his shoulder at them, and the stress of the entire situation was plain in his expression. He gave them a quick, sparing glance and simply spat, "Not now, Lime."

Trying her best not to get angry with him, she looked towards Krillin and said, "Yes, now, Gohan. Look, you've been at this for too long already. You have to get some rest."

She nudged Krillin, who looked understandably nervous, and he cleared his throat. "She's right Gohan, you're wearing yourself down, working like this. You gotta come at it with a fresh mind if you're going to-"

"I cant!" he suddenly blurted, cutting them off. He continued to stare at the screen, though it was evident that he wasn't actually reading anything anymore. He took a deep breath and turned towards them, "I'm sorry… I can't take a break. They took my mom, they took Videl." He opened his mouth, struggling to get more out, but no further noise would come from his throat, so he shut it.

Lime sighed heavily and rubbed her brow in frustration, "I know, Gohan, but you're not doing them any good by running yourself into the ground like this. We'll find them, but right now you've got to take a breather."

Gohan fixed her with a stern stare that made her wish she were anywhere else, but Krillin came to the rescue and diverted his attention, "Hey, have you reported this yet? I know the police aren't exactly as good as you at finding people, but it couldn't hurt to have extra eyes out, right?"

Gohan hesitated, and then blinked a couple times in surprise. He muttered, "No…"

Krillin nodded and took a deep breath, "Okay, look. I'll bring it up, I'll report it for you. Regardless of my relationship with you and your old man, they have to take missing people seriously. Videl will automatically be pushed up to the top of the force's priority list, but your mom… Well…"

Gohan gave him a pleading look and asked, "What? What about her?"

Krillin rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced, "Well, it's just that… That, it'll likely be thought that your mom ran off into hiding with your father. There was no struggle at your parent's house, the only evidence of anything happening was that transmitter that detonated, right? There's not enough there for anyone to follow, and I doubt they'd even try to, considering how it all looks right now. I'll do whatever I can to get it pushed, but I can't promise anything. Especially considering the whole climate in the city right now."

Gohan considered him with tired eyes for a moment, then looked back towards the screen with a thoughtful look on his face. "Right… I shouldn't be surprised… Please do that? You're right, any help I can get right now…"

Krillin nodded and hesitantly reached out to grasp his shoulder, and Gohan didn't brush it off. "Come on, kid. You've gotta go get some shuteye, come back to this when you've got your head on straight."

Lime, sensing the moment was right, walked around to his other side and gently pried his hand off of the mouse, taking care not to agitate the burns and blisters on it. She eyed the wound with a grimace and held his hand open for her to inspect, saying, "And you need to get that cleaned up before it gets infected."

Gohan looked down at it, then back up at Lime with a tired stare, "But I don't get infections that easy, you kno-"

"Yeah, I know it, Gohan! Would you just listen to me and go?" she said, exasperated. Gohan jolted a little at her tone, but seemed to finally give in, and gave the screen one last hopeless stare. He gritted his teeth and nodded, allowing the other two to help him stand, which was surprisingly difficult for him, as he had been sitting for far too long, and with no sleep.

Lime, relieved that he was actually complying with her after almost four hours of trying, wrapped one of his large arms around her shoulder and led him back towards the entrance to the lab. She gave Bulma a relieved look, which the blue haired woman returned with a sad sort of half-smile. Gohan looked over the lab real quick and halted suddenly, giving Bulma a sheepish sort of look. He started to apologize when she held up her hand to stall him, saying calmly, "Don't, Gohan. I've made much larger messes in less stressful situations. I'll get it cleaned up, and I'll get a team of guys working on that transmitter to see what we can uncover. Go get some sleep."

With that, Gohan was led by the arms back through the building and into the family dome of the compound. Krillin and Lime remained silent for the majority of the walk, knowing where they were going by heart. They passed through many doors before finding themselves in the medical ward, leading him to one of the rooms to lay down.

Gohan stepped away from them and sat down heavily on the side of the bed, looking at his hand for what seemed to be the first time, prodding the red and puffy flesh experimentally. Lime leaned up against the door frame, and Krillin headed off towards the pharmaceutical pantry to retrieve some of the synth-senzu fluid that Bulma had been manufacturing.

"It's not that bad," he said thoughtfully. Lime was about to retort when he pushed on one of the blisters gently, only to accidentally burst it. He hissed through his teeth and winced, quickly grabbing up a tissue from the bed-side and pressing it against the now bleeding wound.

"Yeah, not that bad." Deadpanned Lime. She shook her head and sat down in the chair across from him, staring hard at him. She didn't know what to say. She'd been trying so hard to get him to rest, to help him handle his own frantic search, that she hadn't really thought about the next step. Gohan noticed her expression, and stared back. They sat in silence for a few seconds before Lime finally said, "We'll find them."

Gohan didn't immediately respond, staring at the ground between them. It felt totally inadequate to Lime, simply saying it. But it was all she could manage in that moment. Gohan sighed heavily and retorted, "We shouldn't have to be searching for them. They shouldn't have been taken."

Lime couldn't argue that point, but that brought up another question she'd been asking herself, "How _did_ this happen, Gohan? I know I can't sense energy like you can, but you two have been so attuned to each other for years now. Since we were in high school. How did she get taken without your noticing it?"

She almost regretted asking the question as it fell from her lips, but Gohan didn't seem to be affected by it in a negative way. Instead, he furrowed his brow in thought and pondered her for a moment before stating, "Honestly, I have no clue. I mean, I could hear her inside my head when Spopovich nearly killed her, before we were even fully bonded. I could always sense her emotions at some points when she got really agitated or sad, but I just… I couldn't sense her at all this time." Lime bit her thumbnail and considered what he was saying, wondering how it was even possible. Gohan continued, "That's what scares me the most, Lime. It's as if she just vanished off the face of the Earth. Not even Dende can sense her, but it's not like she's been killed. I'd be able to feel that, just like what mom used to say, or what dad told me... It's like she's just, _gone_. Like she was never there to begin with."

"But how? We know she's not, so whoever took her must have a way to hide her, right?"

"Possibly. But I could sense her through mountains, inside buildings, even from planet Vegeta if I tried. There should be nowhere on Earth that she can be hidden from me, and yet, whoever took her succeeded."

At that moment, Krillin came back in, toting a little spray bottle of pale green fluid. Gohan and Lime looked up at him as he entered, and immediately went to Gohan's side. "Alright, hold it out. Lime, mind getting me a wrap for it?"

She nodded and quickly fetched a clean white bandage that was rolled up and taped from a cabinet across the room. She returned as Krillin was spraying the fluid on Gohan's burnt hand, and promptly began wrapping the appendage. As she was wrapping, she posed the question, "What if there's a way to mask someone's energy? I know you and the others are capable of doing it, but could someone forcibly hide your energy?"

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, I suppose. But we're talking about some powerful women that got kidnapped here. I mean, they had to be some exceptionally strong people if they were able to take Videl down, and I know all of the ones that are too strong for her to handle on a personal level. Shoot, even my mom can put up a better fight than even a dozen normal humans. So, they'd have to be able to mask themselves, _and_ be able to hide both Videl and my mom from me, even when I concentrate on finding them specifically."

Krillin tilted his head curiously at the subject of their conversation and said, "Well, that sounds oddly familiar."

Both Gohan and Lime looked at him quizzically. He leaned up against the door, rubbing his forehead and closing his eyes in concentration. "Look, I got two theories about these guys, and I really hope it isn't the first one."

Gohan didn't need to think too hard to know what his godfather was going to say first, feeling the word echo in his mind before he'd even said anything. _Androids_.

"The first possibility I can think of is more androids made by Gero. But seeing how Gero's lab was destroyed, the last known android being Cell? Well, I find it pretty unlikely that there's any more of them running around."

"Right." Said Gohan tiredly, but now that he had Krillin talking about it, his mind was whirring back into action. "I think it's safe to assume that _that_ is out of the question. What's your other idea?"

"Well," he began uncertainly, "It kinda makes me think of something Bulma told me a long time ago. The first time they were hunting down the dragon balls, they ran into Pilaf, who had one of the dragon balls at the time. She said that he had a way to mask the dragon ball, regardless of its magical properties or the technology involved in finding them. I mean, how do you hide something that should literally be impossible to hide?"

Gohan understood the implications of what he was saying, but thought that maybe it was a little too convenient. "But we actually _know_ where Pilaf and his, uh… I hesitate to call them this, but where his goons are. That was by accident, they didn't realize that putting it in a metal box would hide it, and there's not very many people who even know that it's possible to sense energy like us. So who would have done it?"

Krillin shrugged, "I don't know, man, I'm just spit-balling ideas at this point. Hell, it could just be they got hit with some really hard sedatives or something, I don't know. If you want to start a list, who do we know that hates the Sayans enough to want to do something like this, and which of them has the means to do it? If it's normal people we're talking about here, then we're dealing with some very wealthy and well-organized normal people."

Gohan yawned widely and blinked in surprise at how tired he was suddenly feeling. The cooling effect of the senzu wash on his hand had numbed the pain he hadn't even realized was aching there. Lime gave Krillin a stern look and tied off the bandage with a little jerk that brought both men's attention to her. "We can worry about this later. For now, Gohan, get some sleep."

Krillin grinned sheepishly at her, and Gohan allowed her to push him back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, thoughts still whirring through his mind. She sighed heavily and sat down on the bed next to him, brushing his hair away from his eyes and pursing her lips, obviously unsure of what to say. Gohan, knowing she was feeling as stressed as he was, nodded and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and willing himself to fall asleep.

He was surprised when he could already feel the world closing in around him as his fatigue started to catch up. The last thing he felt before sleep would take him was Lime's lips as she kissed him on the cheek, a sensation reminiscent of their childhood that seemed so far behind them now.

* * *

When he woke again, it was still light out. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, and realized that the bandage on his hand had been removed. The skin where it had been was still a little pink and warm, but otherwise, was healed. Gohan had to marvel at the stuff, it really was something amazing. For a moment, he felt good. It wasn't until he remembered why his hand had been hurt in the first place that his momentary sense of groggy euphoria melted away. He stood up immediately, and started making his way back towards the lab, feeling out with his senses again to see if there was any sign of Videl's ki. He wasn't expecting to find anything, but it still left him feeling hollow when he couldn't sense her.

He passed back through the hallways towards the research dome, passing a few CC employees along the way, most of whom either pretended not to notice him, or gave him a wide berth. He was glad for it. Right now, he couldn't handle the apologies and well-wishes he knew would be showered on him were he not who he was. Before long, he'd made it back into the research dome, and was greeted by the sight of a full research team manning the computers, poring over all the information he'd been sifting through earlier that day. At the head of it all was Bulma, who was standing behind one of her employees, animatedly talking him through something on the monitor at his workstation.

Sproute grunted in acknowledgement as he entered, passing directly in front of her, to which he merely nodded in return. Gohan got right behind Bulma as she was directing her employee and asked, "Anything new?" He had a hard time keeping the anxiety from his voice.

Bulma jumped and whirled around, her eyes wide, but relaxed as soon as she realized who it was. She breathed heavily with a hand over her heart and a half amused, half exasperated look on her face. "Gohan! Kid, you need to stop sneaking up on me like that. If some harbinger of the apocalypse doesn't kill me, then it's going to be you giving me a heart attack."

Gohan gave her a half-hearted smile, but gave her a look that plainly said he wasn't ready to be making jokes yet. She cleared her throat and re-formed her face back to a professionally cool look, nodding towards the monitor. "Show him," she said to the pale faced man sitting at the desk which Gohan had been forced to leave not long before.

"Right," he nodded. His fingers began flying over the keys, and snippets of information started popping up on screen. "Well, whoever did the encryption on this device was brilliant. It doesn't follow any of our known encryption keys, but our newest algorithm was able to achieve some success with the Data. This means they used multiple encryption methods in tandem, which is remarkable in..." he trailed off when he felt both Gohan's and Bulma's eyes boring into the back of his head. "Here's the things we've been able to learn from the transmitter; first, this is _not_ a commercial product. Most likely it's a hand built and programmed piece of hardware, just going off of the way the board itself is built."

"I figured all that out earlier, most major companies don't include explosives in their products," said Gohan with a roll of his eyes, holding up his still-healing hand. The man at the computer turned a bright shade of red and laughed nervously. Gohan indicated back towards the screen, "let's skip the run-down. What can you tell me about any addresses, locations, anything that will give me a point to start looking."

"Eh, right," he said, clicking away on the keyboard once more. "Well, unfortunately there's not a lot to go off of. We got some IP addresses, but cross referencing them with our database shows that almost all of them are from out of country. I'm also certain that this thing has to connect via wi-fi, there's NIC in here, but no hardware powerful enough to be a satellite transceiver or anything like that. Which means-"

It dawned on Gohan suddenly, "There was someone nearby who was transmitting it. Our homes are too far removed from everything to be able to get wired into the big networks directly, so they had to have been somewhere within a few hundred feet of our homes after the kidnapping. Plant the device, wait for someone to enter the home, and then transmit. It'd have been easy enough to drive up in a vehicle and hop on…" He trailed off suddenly, his eyes focusing as another thought came to mind.

Bulma tapped his arm, looking at him anxiously, "you alright kid?"

Gohan slapped himself on the forehead, "There was nowhere nearby that they could have hidden a vehicle, I'd have seen it! They probably piggy-backed onto the dish at my house, it's the only way to get any internet access or TV that far outside of town. That way they could be long gone by the time the transmission was being sent."

The pale faced CC employee pushed his glasses up his nose and said thoughtfully, "Well, if that was so, then at the very least, we could figure out what satellite you're connected to. That could narrow something down."

"Right, get on it." Nodded Bulma authoritatively, "Call up the satellite management guys across town, they manage all the carriers in this area. They should be able to tell us exactly what satellite we're looking for. Make sure they know it's me making the request."

The employee nodded, and Bulma half dragged Gohan away from him so he could work. "Feeling any better?" she asked tentatively.

Gohan shook his head and said lightly, "No, but there's no use in me wallowing right now, is there?"

Bulma nodded, "Yeah. Well, I've had a few ideas come up from some of the others about who might be our kidnappers." Gohan gave her a hard look, begging her to elaborate. She sat him down at the table which he'd flipped earlier, and passed him a cup of coffee, "It's cold, fair warning."

Gohan didn't really care much, he took the paper cup and sipped on it, fixing Bulma with an attentive stare. "Well," she began, taking a deep breath, "I never thought I'd be saying this, purely out of disbelief at their apparent abilities, but a lot of the guys think it was ANTISA. Or at least, that it's meant to look like ANTISA. I'm not convinced they're the ones pulling the strings, but it's far too convenient that the day Chi and Videl are abducted, Goku apparently goes on a rampage at a small-town rally being put on by them."

Gohan nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I had that thought too. But if they're just a front, then who's really doing it?"

Bulma sat back in her chair and sighed, "Well, that's the hard question, isn't it? Motive is simple enough to explain, but the means is a little more difficult. If we hadn't seen the last of them, I'd have guessed it was the Red Ribbon army, finally coming back to get their revenge on Goku."

Gohan grimaced, the words of his earlier conversation with Krillin echoing in the back of his mind. "Yeah, and Androids would be perfect for sneaking in and back out with a hostage. But there's a problem with that. The army was destroyed and disbanded over thirty years ago now, that would leave very few people from back then who would still be in fighting shape. And, like you said, all the androids they built are accounted for already."

Bulma nodded, "Exactly, which leaves one possibility in my mind. When's the only times that you can no longer sense someone's energy, or whatever it is you guys do?"

Gohan fixed her with a hard look, feeling tired of running around the same topic over and over again. "When they're near death, or just simply dead. But I already went over-"

"What if," Bulma cut in, holding up a finger to stall him, "they were made to appear dead? What if they were sedated or poisoned so that to you and the others, they would disappear? There wouldn't be a point in killing someone and then taking the body, but what if the person they took was made to seem dead?"

Gohan considered her words, the implications of Videl and his child being poisoned sending a flare of anger through his gut. "I suppose it's possible. But they'd have to still be able to hide Videl once she was revived. I doubt they'd be foolish enough to try and keep her under, they'd want information on us. You know just as well as I do that Saiyan couples have a much closer bond to one another, I can sense her so much easier than anyone else. Hiding her is no small feat."

Bulma nodded and chewed on her lip, "You're not wrong, I didn't really think about that bit. So either she's dead, they've got her so sedated that she seems dead, and has been since the abduction, or..."

"Or they've got a way to mask energy." Gohan stated dryly.

"Uh, ma'am?" called the employee whom they had left behind, interrupting any further discussion, "I've got something."

Gohan and Bulma stood and rushed to his side, looking at the monitor and quickly scanning the information. The man quickly stated, "Look, around the time of the attacks yesterday, the sat-comm team logged a node change on this satellite here." he pointed at a long log, seeing four different highlighted entries. "Here, and here, these two connections were changed to be a direct link from this one address marked here, and the other end is-"

"Our address. Point to point?" Gohan asked eagerly, feeling apprehensive.

"Yes sir," nodded the man, "and you're not going to believe where the other address is." Gohan peered at it, but the string of random characters made no sense to him. Seeing he wasn't going to get a response, the man pushed his glasses up on his nose and said with a haughty smirk, "ZTV broadcasting center, Satan City."

Gohan and Bulma both stared at him hard. He was correct, it was certainly difficult to believe. Bulma rubbed her chin and thought out loud, "But… why would a major broadcasting company like ZTV be in on all of this? What would they gain from it? If anything, getting involved in something like this would likely tank the entire company if word ever got out, it's too much of a risk for them to take."

Gohan took a deep breath and closed his eyes in frustration, dryly saying, "They probably don't realize what it is they did. I'm willing to bet it's one person, and I've got a gut feeling about who it is I need to pay a visit."

 **ELSEWHERE**

Captain Wilhelm of the Red Ribbon Army marched smartly through the dark corridors of their underground lair. He wasn't in a good mood. As intelligence officer, it was his job to keep track of potential threats, targets, and now, hostages.

"Sergeant, make sure to log the damage done to Videl. Also make a note that Mrs. Son still hasn't woken up, and it's currently unknown if we will be able to safely resuscitate her considering how hard she was sedated. Our good captain is going to pay for his mistakes today, even worse than his men did if I have anything to say for it." he growled through gritted teeth. The sergeant in question nodded his head and threw a quick salute before falling back a few paces behind him and writing quickly in a green notebook.

He had only just been informed of the condition that his two hostages had been in upon arrival at their facility. Needless to say, he wasn't going to be getting any information out of Chi Chi, though he still held some hope for Videl. Of course, he and Captain Fisher shared a rank, but that didn't stop him from wanting to put a hole in the man's skull. _Not like it'd do any real harm to him, he hasn't got enough going on up there,_ he thought sardonically. _Well, at least the caskets worked._

"Oh, and file a report on the casket mk.1. The mobile version of the spirit shield system is a success. Our boys down in R&D are going to be happy about that, at least."

"Yes sir."

"Good, now get going." He waved off the sergeant, who saluted again and headed off in the opposite direction. The captain passed through a heavy metal door and walked past a line of vehicles, his hands held behind his back as he reviewed the trucks and tanks on either side of him. Seeing that everything seemed to be in order, he took a detour off his usual route, and passed between two of the vehicles to find the two trucks that had been equipped with the "caskets".

To anyone else, it would have just looked like a standard large SUV. But with the doors open and the rear hatch up, it was very obvious that the whole vehicle was armored. He peered in the back of the one nearest him, and saw the crew huddled inside the fairly spacious interior cleaning up. There were still bloodstains on the floor of the vehicle as well as the concrete just outside the tailgate, and several bloody rags were littered about as they worked. _This must have been the one Videl came back in._

He left silently to avoid disturbing the men working on the vehicle, and made his way towards his next destination. He passed through another hatch into a man-trap. After receiving the all-clear, he left through the opposite door, this time entering a much narrower concrete hallway lined with guards every so often. He passed an open door which he could hear laughter coming from, and on a whim, decided to step inside. There were four men lounging about in what had clearly been made into an impromptu recreations room. The barren concrete walls were still as dreary as all the others, but there were a few personal amenities that had been moved in. For one, the room smelled of strong coffee, and four men sat with their backs to him, lounging in lawn chairs that they had no doubt brought in themselves. They were watching a film on a small television that looked like it had been pulled from the barracks. It wasn't until he saw their weapons leaning up against the wall that the Captain spoke.

"Enjoying yourselves?" he asked, causing the four guards to jump up, one of them knocking over a chair in the process. They spun around, and seeing who it was, immediately jumped to attention with slightly guilty expressions.

"Uh, yes sir. It's an old comedy someone brought in from outside, we're off duty at the-"

"I can see that." The captain said, cutting off any further explanation. He placed his hands behind his back and nodded to the weapons, asking a little too calmly, "Your rifles, are they in good working order?"

All at once, the four guards turned pale as they realized their mistake. The one who had spoken earlier swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded, "Yes, sir. Daily maintenance as usual-"

"That's good," drawled the captain, "now, you do realize who we have being held down here, don't you? The power that these people possess?" Another guard was about to speak, but he raised his voice, cutting them off, "Now, those particular weapons are specifically designed to be able to take out _any_ living thing, the amount of firepower you four have been given goes far beyond a standard uniformed military, and _you just leave them unattended against the wall_?"

Silence followed the question, none of the four guards knowing how to respond. The captain calmly strode over to the rifles and picked one up, removing the magazine and inspecting the ammunition within. "Depleted uranium tips, hydro-reactive fluid inside a steel jacket. Extremely high velocity rounds up to a range of three-hundred and fifty meters. No modern body armor can stand up to these rounds within that range, and if you get shot with one, the resulting explosion from that fluid hitting your blood would spell instant death. These weapons, in the hands of someone like Videl Satan, would be her ticket out of here, no matter how worn down and battered she might be. Even in her current state, I doubt any of you four could take her on in a one on one fight. I don't think I need to tell you what her escape would mean?"

Again, no response from the four men. They merely watched him apprehensively while the television behind them said boisterously, "I'll bite your legs off!" He slammed the magazine back into the rifle and threw it at the nearest guard, who barely managed to get his arms up in time to catch it. "Don't let me catch anyone else leaving their weapon unattended. It's either in your hands, or it's in the armory. No in-betweens."

"Yes, sir." The four men chorused. He nodded and turned about on his heel, walking back out of the room without a backwards glance. _Morons_.

He made his way further along the hall and stopped at another steel door that was flanked by two armed guards. They snapped to attention when he halted in front of them, and leaned in to peer through the view-port. "Any change in her state?" he asked.

"No, sir." Said the guard to his right. The captain could make out the form of Chi Chi laid out on her table, nude except for the undergarments she'd been wearing. A monitor beeped away in the background, and he could see that she was covered in diodes. He sighed, shaking his head. Without another word, he turned and continued along the hallway until he found his final destination. The two guards there snapped to attention as well, and he looked through the view-port into the room of Videl Satan.

The lights were on, and Jeanine was sitting next to Videl, spoon-feeding her what appeared to be applesauce. "How long has she been in there?" he asked quietly. The guard next to him responded, "About half an hour. The doctor's been trying to get her to keep some food down, but it doesn't sound like that's working too well. They've been pretty quiet, but Videl keeps retching."

"Hnn." Grunted the captain. He took a breath and closed his eyes for a moment to compose his face, then said, "No one is to interrupt me until I finish interrogating Videl. It will be short today, barely more than an introduction."

Without waiting for a response, he pressed the lock release, and entered the cell. Jeanine jumped up, whirling around to face him. He was surprised to see that Videl seemed very alert, as her head turned about to face him. "How is your patient doing, doctor?" he asked, putting on a polite smile and making eye contact with Jeanine. He was happy to see the look of distaste and unease on her face. She knew why he was here.

"Just trying to get her to keep something down. She's still weak after everything. But, well…" she hesitated and looked at Videl, who was staring at the captain with a look of disdain on her face.

"Come now, Videl." He said calmly, bouncing on the balls of his feet and giving her that same polite smile. "You and I are just meeting for the first time, and I'm hoping I'll make a better impression than my counterpart, whom you've already met. The least you could do is show me the same courtesy."

"Obviously, there's no need to introduce myself." she spat venomously.

The captain smiled wider. "I am pleased to see that your tongue is as sharp as ever, especially given your current state. Please, eat. I just want to ask you some questions."

Videl gave him an incredulous look, like he'd just grown a horn out of his forehead. She traded a glance with Jeanine, then asked, "What sort of questions?"

"We'll get to that in a moment. Please, eat something." He smiled imploringly. He could feel Videl's disgust with how sickly sweet he was being. That was good, it meant that getting under her skin was going to be easy. Jeanine attempted to give her some more applesauce, but Videl refused to even acknowledge the spoon, glaring hard at him. He sighed and straightened himself, "Very well. Jeanine, do me a favor, and leave us for a moment?"

The doctor looked at Videl apologetically, but nodded in response, collecting the food items she'd brought with her and making her way to the door. Within seconds, she was gone, leaving only Videl and Captain Wilhelm. The room echoed with the hollow sound of the metal door for a few seconds, then a harsh silence settled in.

"I should start, I suppose, with an apology for my colleague's behavior. We did not realize that you were carrying a child, and the dose of sedative you were given was a lot for a bear... Harming you or your child was never our intent, and he will be punished for his actions. Not to mention the injuries you have sustained as a result of your encounter..." he gently ran his fingers over her swollen cheek. She recoiled instinctively, shutting her eyes and refusing to look at him.

"Let's skip the pleasantries, I'm not foolish enough to believe that anyone here actually cares about my needs or wants, so let's just get it over with so I can go back to sleep." Videl snarled, her eyes opening after a moment to fix firmly on his, a bright fire shining behind them.

"Ah," he smiled knowingly, removing his hand from her jaw and taking up the seat which the doctor had vacated. "But it'd be rude of me to skip the pleasantries, and I don't make a habit of being rude to people whom I respect."

"You kidnapped me from my home, had me beaten, put my child at risk, and somehow managed to do all of this without Gohan knowing where I was. Trust me, I don't care what you want right now, and I hardly believe you respect me any more than I respect you. Ask your questions."

The captain sighed heavily, interlocking his hands below his chin and staring back at those intense blue eyes. "Very well, then. Regarding your husband, or more correctly, his people. What are their intentions with this planet? With the people of Earth?"

Videl stared back at him for a moment before answering, "The Saiyans? I don't know what their intentions with the Earth are, not exactly."

"Put me in the ball-park."

She sighed and laid her head back, saying, "You know as much as I do. They said that they wanted to make a colony here, coexist with us."

"Ah, but there's always an ulterior motive. No colony has ever been established that didn't have a long-term goal besides just living somewhere. So, what is their true purpose? Surely your husband, being who he is, must know something."

"Like he said, if the Saiyans did have plans to take over or something, they would be able to without much of a fight at all. They used to conquer planets with tiny teams, or even just with a baby! But the guy they used to do that for has been dead for nearly twenty years, so they've been out of the business for a while." She said, shaking her head and staring up at the ceiling.

"Well then, why would they want to colonize here? What could they gain?"

"You're really going to keep grilling me on this?" she laughed humorlessly, "You're even dumber than I would have given you credit for. They want allies, and you're not making a very good impression, I promise you that."

There was a pause in the conversation, the captain looked for a moment like he was furious, staring hard at her. But seconds later, he had his polite smile on his face. "Well, I'll withhold judgement for now, considering that we still don't know much about them. Let's ask a different question, then. Have you been to their planet? I know they have a way to get there quickly, so have you?"

"How about you answer one of my questions?" she retorted irritably.

He hesitated, then smiled widely and shrugged, "I see no harm in it. Though just as I don't necessarily trust any answer you give me, I doubt you'd believe anything I tell you in return. You first, answer my question."

She glared at him for a moment, her eyes calculating, measuring his reaction to what she would say, "Yeah, I have."

"And how many Saiyans are there?" he asked, his voice sounding quite disbelieving.

She smirked deviously and said, "Why, worried you'll be even more hopelessly screwed than before?"

He raised his eyebrows and smiled wider, "Not at all, actually. I'm more concerned with how much ammunition I'm going to have to acquire in order to be able to fight them in force. How many body bags I would need. I've no doubt that the Saiyans only number in the tens of thousands, considering the things your husband said before."

"And you think he was telling the truth? Honestly, he's trying to make peace with the people of Earth, do you think he'd really tell us how many Saiyans there actually are?"

"Well, you seem to know different, Videl. So how about you enlighten me?" He was starting to sound a bit impatient, but quickly recovered his composure to a totally neutral stare.

She pulled out a snarky tone and said, "I already answered your question, I think you owe me one. How did you manage to take me?"

There was another pause, in which the captain considered her carefully. His expression was unreadable, though Videl swore she could see the fires of hatred burning behind those grey orbs. He gave her a consoling sort of smile and said, "Well, perhaps you should have thought out your question more carefully... As to how we took you? Well, you were there. You were sedated heavily via tranquilizer rounds, subdued by armed men after a brief but intense fight, and transported here against your will to a secure location, and you will never be found again unless we allow it."

He stood up, leaning over her and getting close enough to her for her to smell the brand of toothpaste that he brushed with that morning. "And I think you'd do well to remember that while you're down here, you can easily be subdued again, in case you have any... _ideas_." He placed a hand on her exposed belly, right below the navel, sending a chill through her that was visible in her shaking limbs. Her eyes no longer held any defiance, now there was a hint of fear and anxiety in them. "And I assure you, for the sake of your child, that is not something that you want to do. I've no intention of harming either of you, but I have every intention of learning everything you know about the Saiyans. If I cannot get you to cooperate, then my colleague will likely be asked to try, and I cannot vouch for his actions. You know why? Because he's an animal, and just like any wild beast, he's unpredictable. I might even get to watch."

The smile never left his face, but this time, his eyes held a sadistic sort of glee. It was hard to mistake the look in them as those grey orbs scanned her body, spread out on the table as it was, barely clothed at all. It turned her stomach. He removed his hand and walked to the door, pausing with his back to her and saying, "I will leave you with your thoughts for now, Videl. Next time I come in this room, I hope you will be more agreeable, for your own sake. Just remember, this is all for the safety of the Earth. I hope that you'll be able to see it my way."

The door buzzed open, and the captain left. Videl could feel the air in the room cool down at his departure, as if the anger she was feeling from him was suddenly hidden from her. Jeanine entered the room again, looking over her shoulder while the door was shut. She hurried to Videl's side and looked her over, "You okay?" she asked quietly. Videl merely nodded. Jeanine gave her a smile and nodded, "you did well."

Videl allowed a hint of a smile to dance on her lips and nodded in return, looking the doctor in the eye. "Thank you, Jeanine. You were right about him. He hides it well, but he's got a short fuse."

Jeanine's smile started to fade, and she sat down heavily in the chair next to her. "Unfortunately, he'll keep coming back until he's sure he's got every bit of information from you. So long as you keep him thinking that you know something he doesn't, he'll keep you alive. I can say for certain his work ethic is incredible, thought I can't say the same for his morals. Be careful how you handle him, I'm not sure what he'll do if you actually piss him off..."

Videl sighed and laid her head back on the hard table, flexing her muscles as best she could to relieve the tension in her back. "Do you think he'd really carry through his threat? Bring that other guy back in here?"

Jeanine pursed her lips and sighed, "I can't say. This is new territory for me, too. I hope not, there's something seriously wrong with that guy." Videl nodded, and felt the adrenaline leaving her body after the interrogation. She felt drained. _Must be the sedative, I'm still feeling it._ She fought back a yawn. There was a loud knock on the door, and Jeanine rested a hand on her shoulder, "I'll be back in a bit, okay? Try to rest a little."

Once again, Videl was left in dark solitude as the doctor left. She was starting to trust her, in spite of her suspicion that the doctor was playing the metaphorical "good cop". She stared up at the ceiling, running everything through in her mind, and trying to think of a way to get out.

 **A/N: So, lots of things developing. Lots of things currently sitting in another document, waiting to be used. Now for the hard part, putting it all together in a way that is entertaining to read. I hope that the whole "Don't use the dragon balls for petty shit" thing doesn't bother people too much, but it seriously annoys me that no matter how you look at a Dragon Ball story (including canon), there's always that get out of jail free card. The hard part? Making the characters decide on their own that they shouldn't use the dragon balls so much, that it leaves them to be reckless. There's no real way around that, and that is one of the few things I give GT credit for. _They actually had a reason to not make a bunch of wishes on the dragon balls in a short amount of time!_ So, the best I can think of without ripping it straight from GT is to give the main characters a warning from the gods (none in specific, but anyone who has watched Super will know) to not abuse the power they have. That's all I got for you today, I hope you enjoyed it. Shoot me a PM if you have ideas, Review if you like, and have a good day/morning/night/whatever time it is. I'll see you next time.**


	13. The Hunt

**Howdy folks! Back again, and in record time this time! (/s)... Alright, I know it's been a while. But what can I say. College is rough, especially if you decide to be a hard ass and try to pull 15-16+ hour semesters on classes that rely heavily on math and physics... But, now that my semester has recently been reduced to a 12hr one, I finally got around to polishing this chapter off last night. So, without further delay, read on!**

 **CHAPTER 13: THE HUNT**

"So, ZTV, huh?" asked Sharpener with a slightly anxious glance over at his friend's gaunt expression. It had only been about an hour since Gohan had been informed about their involvement, and with each passing second, he was feeling more certain. They were in Sharpener's car, driving in to Satan City, and already Gohan could see what he could only describe as a mob located just outside of city hall.

"Yeah, looks that way," Gohan grunted in response, keeping his eyes out the window in front of him on the large group of people. He twisted his watch around his wrist, his knuckles turning white with anticipation.

Sharpener stayed silent for a moment, slowing down to allow another vehicle to pass in front of them. "Well, I can't say I'm shocked, man. We all saw how they were handling you guys' arrival."

"Just one of them, actually. It just happened to bump the studios ratings, so they didn't really care what Angelina James said about us. It made them money."

"You think it's her?"

Gohan didn't answer, but it was plain in his expression that he thought so. Sharpener paused a moment, then snorted out a humorless laugh and said, "Damn, that woman really had no idea who she was messing with, huh?" Gohan nodded. Of course, he didn't have any proof yet, but he was hoping that his search today would provide some answers. Sharpener seemed to have a thought and looked sideways at him, "Just one question, man. Why did you want me to drive you in to Satan City? Couldn't you just fly in a lot faster?"

Gohan sighed heavily and watched a particularly rowdy group of people as they passed by, most of them toting sweaters or bandanas with the ANTISA logo painted on them. "I'm supposed to be gathering my Saiyan friends and leaving, remember? They said they'd kill Videl and my mom if they thought we were taking action against them. I'm not sure I'm willing to call their bluff. And now, the fucking gods of the universe have decided that we can't use the dragon balls unless it's a planetary emergency." He spat the last sentence out, glowering at nothing in particular.

"I mean, didn't you say that you were stronger than them? How are they going to stop you?"

Gohan wasn't really sure how best to answer that question. He considered Sharpener for a moment, and said, "In physical terms, yes. But they're gods, Sharpy. They literally brought back a dead race, gave them a planet, altered the Universe in a way that I'd never even considered possible. If I were a child again, I'd call it magic. I've no clue what else they are capable of." He paused a moment, then added, "And, to be honest, it sounds like all that was passed down by someone even higher than the Supreme Kai, though I haven't got the slightest clue who that could be."

Sharpener whistled and shook his head, "Even higher than that Shin guy? And here I thought that he was the highest you could get, all… _Supreme-y_ and such."

In spite of his mood, Gohan couldn't help but smile at his friend's words. He was still amusing, even in these dark times. "Yeah, well, whatever the case may be. I get the feeling that there must be a reason for it, whatever it is. I never thought we'd live in a world where the dragon wasn't an option."

"Well, you've still got a bit of a leg up on most of us," said Sharpener thoughtfully, "All this means is that now you've got to be more careful."

"Careful? I've always been careful, Sharpy. But careful wasn't enough this time, whoever did all this managed to get away with Videl from practically right under my nose. I should have been able to see this coming, there had to have been people. Signs. Something."

Sharpener gave him a look out of the corner of his eyes and said, "You know what I mean, man. And you can't just go through life looking for every possible threat like that, you gotta live a little too. Besides, more paranoia isn't going to do anything for your cheery demeanor. I say, get all this shit handled, find out who's at the root of it all, and weed them out. Then park your happy ass at home with Videl and your kid and just… You know, be a dad."

Gohan raised his eyebrows at him and deadpanned, "You think it'll be that simple?"

Sharpener shrugged with a smile and said, "Sure. Why not? I mean, besides the possibility of a baby floating around your living room, your home life ought to be. It's not so far-fetched, is it?"

There was a prolonged silence that followed. Gohan wasn't really sure how to respond. It was a nice thought that he'd considered back when Buu was still alive, and he really did appreciate that Sharpener would say it, but he knew that it was very unlikely to happen. He was saved from having to say anything else on the matter by the sight of the main ZTV building coming into view as they rounded a corner. There were a lot of people out front, including some police officers, and a whole lot of ANTISA supporters.

"Man, look at them all…" said Sharpener, awestruck. As they pulled closer, traffic started slowing to a crawl.

"I'm getting out here." stated Gohan simply. He made to get out when the blonde next to him grasped onto his arm and made him pause

"Hey, what if you're wrong and have to get out? Or need some help? How are you going to get a hold of me?"

Gohan gave him a small smile and said, "Well, if it all goes wrong, then I'm going to have to live with… Well… I won't get it wrong. Don't worry about it Sharpy. But… Thanks."

With that, he opened the door, and making sure that his tail was tucked away beneath his clothing, stepped out into the daylight. He immediately went into the crowd so as to go unnoticed, acting as natural as he could. So far, nobody seemed to recognize him, which was a blessing. He moved with the crowd for a while until he spotted an alley coming up on his right which led to the side of the ZTV building.

He made a quick decision and dropped out of the crowd, into the alley. He checked around him to see if he was being followed, then continued further in. He looked up and down the side of the building, searching for cameras, and seeing none, pushed his ki beneath him. He rose up, scaling the full height of the structure until he passed the ledge and landed lightly on the roof. One more check for cameras showed that there were only two; one facing the street where Sharpener had dropped him off, and another facing the back, where he could see a lot full of broadcast vehicles and employee parking.

 _Good, I'm willing to bet that she'll come out through the back. Now, what did Bulma say she drove? New ST Custom shop model Capsule Corp roadster, cherry red?_ He stood on the edge of the roof looking down into the lot, and quickly found the car in question. It was parked a short distance away from all the other vehicles, no doubt so that it didn't get any door dings in it. He took a moment to press the side buttons on his watch, donning the armor and helmet of his Bardock disguise.

"Run the plate, there." He lined up a dot on the inside of his helmet's display over the vehicle in question, and information flashed across it. The plate number was magnified for him, and the name 'Angelina Elizabeth James' popped up beneath it, along with her registered address. _Good,_ he thought, _at least I know she's here somewhere._ He had a moment of amused reflection when he remembered how much this particular model of car cost. It had all the bells and whistles of a luxury cruiser, but all the power under the hood of a high-end performance racer. Its only real draw back was that it wasn't capable of being capsulized. _No way that a normal reporter could accumulate enough cash to afford that thing…_

He took a seat on the edge of the building, his feet hanging off, and waited. He didn't have to wait long though, soon enough, people started leaving as the end of the work day came. None of them thought to look up at the roof of the building, and all the while, Gohan's helmet was scanning faces and passing information to him. He started to worry when more than half the lot was now empty, and he still hadn't seen her. But his worries were unfounded, as she exited the building alongside the boy that Gohan was able to recognize as the cameraman that she took with her everywhere she went.

He stood up, and lined the dot on his HUD with the two of them. "Listen in."

"-want you to make sure that all your gear is ready to go tonight, okay? The boss is asking us to go do some coverage on the Council meeting tomorrow, and we gotta make sure we get everything." Said Angelina.

"Right…" There was a little pause, and he sighed, "What do you think they're going to say? I mean, that video… It was terrifying. What if that Goku guy comes back? You ran a pretty harsh piece on his son, didn't you?"

"Aw, worried about me, Credence?" she cooed mockingly, "Don't worry about it kid. If he was going to do anything to me, he'd have done it long ago. Besides, I'm only doing my job, it's not like I've got some sort of personal interest in discrediting them. They've got no reason to come after me. Not while those ANTISA morons are going about trying to get them banned from the planet. Compared to that, I'm just an annoying little house fly."

Credence gave a little laugh, "Ah, I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am, that's why they pay me the big bucks to do what I do. Now, what do you think? That green dress I wore to the Mayor's party? Or the dark blue suit? It's a pretty important event, and I wanna look good."

"You're asking me?"

She paused at the door of her car and leaned up against it, giving him an amused look. "Uh, yeah, I just did. I know how you look at me Credence, it's okay. I'm not self-conscious about people thinking that way about me. Hell, it's half the reason I get payed as much as I do." Even from his height, Gohan could see the young man's face turning a bright shade of red, and he shuffled his feet nervously.

"Oh, well… Uh. I say you should go for the dress, then."

She laughed lightly and looked down at her chest with a small shake, making her breasts bounce, and thinking out loud, "Yeah, it does make the girls stand out a bit, huh? Alright, I'll take your advice on the matter. Now, go get some rest kid, you did good today. I'll see you in the morning."

Credence was left standing there, dumbstruck. Gohan pitied him a little. It seemed like he hadn't had much experience in the way of women, much less older ones who had forsaken much of their modesty for the sake of making money. Angelina got into her car and departed, and still he just stood there, watching after her. Gohan realized with a jolt that in the short span after her departure, the young man was left alone in the parking lot.

 _I guess now is as good a time as any,_ he thought, and quickly acted. With no effort at all, he pulled the cable from the back of the roof camera, and lightly hopped off. He controlled his descent with his ki, and landed very lightly behind him, realizing quickly that Credence was about a foot shorter than him, and the early stages of a patchy beard growing on his chin. Without a word, he grabbed Credence under his arms and leapt back up into the sky.

Credence could only scream in terror as the world fell away beneath his feet. He struggled to get out of Gohan's grip, only to realize how high he suddenly was, and scrambled to hold on again. After a few seconds of abject terror, he was set down gently on the roof of the ZTV building. Regardless of how gentle Gohan had put him down, Credence fell forward immediately and scrambled away from him, spinning and rising to his feet several feet away.

"Who are you?! What do you-" he froze. There was no way to hide the sudden fear on his face as recognition flashed in his eyes. "Wait, you're Gohan! What do you want with me? I swear, I didn't have anything to do with Ms. James' article, I'm just an intern here, I sw-"

"Easy there Credence," Gohan said calmly, holding his hands up disarmingly. He reached up and pulled his helmet off with a hiss as the seal around his neck was broken. "I'm not here for you, not really. I've got some questions about your boss."

Credence seemed to relax just a bit at his tone, but still kept a sizeable distance between them. "Okay, do I get a say in any of this?"

Gohan gave him half a smile and simply state, "No."

"I don't know what you want me to answer, though… Like I said, I'm just an intern. Ms. James brought me on as her aid, nothing more." He said imploringly, a hint of fear still in his voice.

Gohan paused a moment, considering the young man with a critical eye. "How old are you, Credence?" he asked. The young man paused before reluctantly answering, "Eighteen, last month." Gohan took a deep breath and sighed, he hadn't expected someone so young to get wound up in all of this. He tried to get him to relax a little, "Eighteen? You're not a lot younger than I am. In fact, you were probably in high school while I was. Orange Star High?"

Credence seemed a bit taken aback by the statement, but nodded. "Yeah, you and Videl were seniors then. About to leave, everyone knew who you two were. Local celebrities, what everyone aspired to be. Before all this Saiyan nonsense."

Gohan nodded, "Yeah, I can imagine. At least, for Videl anyways..." There was a moment's silence where Gohan watched him, searching for any hint on his face. "Are you aware of what's happened to Videl?" he asked quietly, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

"What? No, the last thing I'd heard was Ms. James talking about your marriage a while ago. There wasn't a whole lot else, everything has been about the Saiyans since then. Your dad going on that rampage is still fresh out there, everyone is talking about it."

"Ah," said Gohan, feeling his mood sour even more at the mention of it. He shook his head and stared directly at Credence, "Well, it might surprise you to know that Videl has been kidnapped, as has my mother. I suspect your boss to be in on it somehow."

Credence froze at the revelation, and his mouth gaped open. "Kidnapped? But who could?... Who would kidnap her? And your mother, too, isn't she a princess or something? How has that escaped notice?"

Gohan was happy to hear the shock in his voice, it meant that Credence didn't have anything to do with it. He didn't let it show on his face, "Probably because it's my mother and Videl, both of whom are being labeled race-traitors. All I know for sure is it's not my father's doing. That's why I need information on Angelina James, whether or not she's directly responsible, she's been connected with the kidnappings, and I need to find out what she's been doing. Is there anything out of the ordinary? If there's anything you've seen, it could help us find Videl, and find my mother."

Credence gave him a skeptical look, "You don't care to try and clear your father's name?"

Gohan shook his head, "Not yet. He can handle himself. That wasn't him on the film, but that tape and the kidnappings are related. Once I have Videl and my mom safe, I can worry about that."

"What about you? There's a lot of people out there calling for your head, too. As much as I hate herd mentality, how do I know you're not like that? How do I know you won't kill me if I get in your way?" he asked, fear coloring his words now.

Gohan felt his mouth twitch, and said calmly, "Because you aren't the kind of person I would want to kill, Credence. You aren't a stain on Humanity, and I can tell you don't want innocents hurt in the process. Help me out, and you have nothing to worry about."

Credence hesitated, his breath caught in his throat for a moment. His eyes were searching Gohan's face, looking for something. "Fine," he said finally, "If you're telling me the truth, Videl needs help. It's not fair to her to get hurt for just marrying an alien." Gohan felt a little twinge of annoyance, and fought to keep a reaction off his face. "Ms. James hasn't been doing anything obviously wrong, or out of the ordinary. I can say for certain that she's been making a lot more money lately. Moved to the uptown district, bought a new car, that sort of thing. She's been having a lot of dates recently, too. Everyone in the office suspected that she got a sugar-daddy or something. But I've heard a couple of her private calls while we were on the road, whoever she's talking to doesn't sound like a boy-toy, more along the lines of an employer."

Gohan nodded, intrigued by the information. He could have put together that she was getting paid by someone for her work against the Saiyans, and he had his suspicions about who it might be. "Did you hear any names?"

Credence shook his head vigorously, "No. I only heard mention of Saiyans once, and lots of talk about payments. I think those phone calls were someone on the other side telling her about something she needed to do. But it's all just speculation on my part, and I don't like sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

"That's smart," Gohan said encouragingly, "that'll keep you alive. Was there anything else? Any other oddities that you noticed?"

"No…" he hesitated, and Gohan raised an eyebrow at him, suspecting that he had more to say. Credence shook his head again and blurted out, "Well, maybe one more thing. The other day, she asked me to go to broadcast and request a node change on one of our satellites, or something like that. She wasn't specific, and I don't really know what the request was for. She just had me give the helpdesk guy a package that I think had money in it, and he said it would get done. It felt shady, but I kinda expected it in this business. It's not unheard of for money to pass hands so things get done. It was just the first time that I had experienced it first-hand."

Gohan couldn't help but smile. _Bingo_. "Very good, Credence. That's exactly what I needed to hear."

Credence seemed a bit wary now, seeming to realize that Gohan had gotten what he wanted from him. He took a step back, "What are you going to do now?"

Gohan placed his helmet back on his head, and said calmly, "I have another visit to make. You'll understand if I ask you not to mention this conversation?"

Credence seemed to be bursting to say something, and as Gohan turned to leave him, blurted out, "What are you going to do to Ms. James? You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

Gohan hesitated, looking over his shoulder at him, "Not if she behaves herself. How about you, you didn't answer me. Are you going to keep this quiet?"

"I might. But I need to know she's going to be okay."

Gohan felt annoyed, and turned around again to face him, "Why do you care what happens to her? She's your boss, nothing more."

"She's helped me out more than anyone, even more than my parents did after they divorced. She's a gold digger, I get it, but it doesn't make her a bad person. She just does her job, and she's good at it. You gotta promise me that no harm will come to her."

Gohan groaned inwardly. _Great, now I have to deal with the moral dilemma. Of course there'd be someone who thinks she's not all bad._ It only took him a moment to come up with an idea. "Fine, I wont. In fact, I'll give you first hand proof. You do something for me, and I'll do something for the both of you."

Credence took a chance and stepped closer to him, "Okay, shoot. I'm all ears."

Gohan stared at him through his helmet, "You seem to know a bit about my kind and what we're capable of, so here's the deal. Once I set things in motion, there's going to be some fighting, and I get the feeling that you and Angelina are going to become targets by association. Sorry kid, but that's what happens sometimes." Credence's face turned white at his words, Gohan held up a hand to stall him, "But, I can offer you protection. All I ask in return, is your silence. I won't ask you to do anything but stay put for a few days until this all blows over. And for your peace of mind, I'll even put you close to Ms. James, so that you can feel assured that I won't do anything to her. How does that sound?"

Credence considered him for a moment, asking, "You're sure that you can make this mess go away? In just a few days? You promise that Ms. James won't be harmed?"

Gohan hesitated, not entirely sure what to say. It sounded to him like Angelina was the one he was after, and he dearly wanted to make her pay, but…

"I can't promise she won't come to harm, Credence. She fell into bed with some of the worst sorts of people, and I can't babysit her… But I can promise you that I won't cause her any harm."

"Okay, I'll accept that." He said, then muttered under his breath, "Probably ought to be there so that she has a voice of reason to tell her not to be stupid." Gohan almost laughed out loud, and was glad that his helmet was covering the amused smirk on his face. Credence shook his head, checked his pockets quickly, then took a look over the side of the building, his face turning white. "Uh, so how are we going to get there? We taking my car?"

Gohan looked up at the rapidly darkening sky, thinking, _Well, I won't have to worry about people seeing me now. I should be able to move about unhindered._ Gohan felt the smirk on his face deepen a little, enjoying the thought of what was about to happen a little too much. Credence looked up at him, and froze, his face stuck in a terrified grimace.

 **LATER THAT EVENING**

Angelina James leaned her head back against the cold porcelain, shutting her eyes and allowing the heat from the bath to soak into her weary bones. She sighed contentedly, reveling in the success she'd been enjoying. She didn't really care that her exploits and stories she fed to the public were highly sensationalized with the intent to stir controversy, she didn't care what damage she did by her broadcasts. In the end, she got paid a hefty sum for her work, and that was the important thing.

She reached for the glass of wine at the edge of her tub and took a sip. She'd never been one for wine, but she had decided to make an allowance for it this time, just to see what it was like. She had to admit, it was pretty good. She replaced the glass and sighed contentedly, thinking about the next day with a smile. The candles were the cherry on top of her relaxation cake that she'd decided to partake in after getting home, leaving her in the dark solitude of her massive bathroom.

"Good day at work, Ms. James?" came a voice, deep and dark that echoed through the tile chamber. She jolted in her tub, splashing a large amount of water over the side, and accidentally inhaled some of her suds. She started coughing, whirling around to look for the source of the voice, but couldn't immediately spot her intruder. In the ruckus, she toppled the glass of wine, spilling its contents on the tile floor.

She sputtered, covering her exposed breasts with her arms and scanning the darkness beyond the circle of light from her candles. _Of all the times to use candles,_ she thought, before asking loudly of the darkness,"Who are you? What the hell are you-… How did you get in here?!" She was startled to hear how high her voice had gone, her fear bleeding into it.

"You know exactly who I am. And why I'm here." She spun about, splashing more water out of the tub in her search for the source of the voice. She froze, ice shooting through her veins when she saw him. His face was shrouded in shadow, though the rest of him was lit dimly by the candlelight. It was impossible to mistake him, even without seeing his face, wearing that black and green armor. " _You!"_ she spat venomously. "How the hell did you get in my house?! Get the hell out, before I call the-"

"You'll do no such thing," interrupted Gohan darkly, stepping forward from the shadows, his face coming into the light. He dropped his helmet on the sink next to him and crossed his arms, staring her down with a fire in his eyes that sent her heart racing.

She felt a panic starting to set in, and moved to remove herself from the tub. "Look, fine, I won't call the cops, but only if you get out."

Gohan stared at her and simply stated, "No." She hesitated, then began reaching for her towel, only to feel his piercing stare burning into the side of her head as he snarled, "Sit back down."

She slowly sank back down into the tub and swallowed past the lump in her throat, saying meekly, "I… Uh, well, I'd rather get covered up. I'm a bit exposed right now…"

"Well then, I guess that makes us even then, doesn't it?" asked Gohan coldly.

"I guess… Is that what this is about? Are you really still on about my story on the Saiyans?" she asked nervously.

"No. Actually, I've got something of a story for you, Ms. James. Perhaps you've heard it before…" Angelina stared back at him, now just as confused as she was scared. Gohan leaned heavily against her sink, grasping onto the edge of it for support and staring at her with those same fury-filled eyes. "See, there was a boy once upon a time, he didn't like people much, and made a name for himself hurting those who he considered bad. One day, he met a girl who changed him, whether or not he wanted to. He found himself suddenly hating people less. They fell in love and married, and soon the girl got pregnant."

 _Oh, spare me…_ she thought exasperated. Gohan continued uninterrupted, "Well, someone took offense to the boy and his family, and declared war on them. One day, they got ballsy, and they kidnapped the girl in the hopes of gaining leverage over the boy and his freak-show of a family, a way to get rid of them permanently. But they fucked up. They forgot to clean up after themselves, and the boy found the girl and her captor."

Gohan paused, and squeezed the edge of the counter. Angelina swore she could see the air around him starting to shimmer, like the fire she could see behind his eyes was manifesting around him and burning the air around him, and she felt her heart sinking lower and lower in her chest. Suddenly, the edge of the marble counter he was grasping broke and crumbled beneath his grip. Angelina yelped in shock and backed away as far as she could, considering her position, halfway rising out of the tub once more. She thought for a second that she might try to make a break for it, but she found herself rooted to the spot out of fear.

"When the boy found the girl, she was beyond saving. No amount of wishing, magic, or medicine could make her whole again. The boy, fueled by rage he'd been suppressing for years, dealt harshly with the girl's captor, and _**all**_ of his accomplices." His eyes went blank as the images of what he was imagining flashed across them, and a truly terrifying look of absolute hatred took over his features, "They were tortured, fingers and toes removed one by one, flayed alive, burned horribly, drowned, brought to the brink of death only to be healed, repeating over and over for years, until the boy grew bored and killed them. The best part? There was nobody alive who could stop him. _**Every**_ accomplice, down to the rat reporter who helped them take the girl, was held responsible."

Angelina felt her gut sinking deeper and deeper as he continued. She wasn't sure at what point it'd started, but she was shivering, despite of the warmth of the bath water. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. There was a vein in his temple that was pulsing violently, and she could feel his desire to harm her radiating off of him in waves. She fought to keep herself calm, removing one of her arms from around her chest to support herself on the edge of the tub. _Okay, play it cool. You've lied and acted your way out things before, he's just a kid. A scary powerful kid, but a kid none the less._

"An interesting story, but I don't see how that explains anything to me, as I don't know what you're referring to. Why don't you tell me why you're in my bathroom while I'm taking a bath?" She suddenly got an idea, and said in a husky voice, "Unless you just wanted a peek? I'm not against giving you a little something to think about, maybe satisfy that hungry look in your eye." She pulled her arm tighter around her breasts, lifting and pressing them in to accentuate their considerable size and round shape. She saw his eyes follow the movement, satisfied with the uncertain expression that came over his face momentarily. "Ahh, It's not too surprising for a man of your age, I suppose. I've got experience, I could teach you a few things if it'd help you see past whatever differences we might have. As you can see, I've got quite a bit more going on than Videl-"

"Shut the fuck up." growled Gohan viciously. She froze, her voice catching in her throat, any hint of her seductive act suddenly lost. The hand she'd slowly started pulling away from her breasts teasingly quickly rushed back to cover them in a panic. "Cut the act, I'm not some naïve moron that can be bought, much less seduced by someone like you. In case I didn't make it clear earlier, I know you were involved in my wife's kidnapping, and you're going to explain it to me. And you'd best hope she's still alive when I find her, or you're going to feel every tiny bit of my anger."

"Okay! Fine! Just don't hurt me!" whimpered Angelina squeakily. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"

Gohan growled deep in his chest and crossed his arms again. "Good, now we're making progress. I have two questions; First, who asked you to request the satellite change? Second, where can I find them? And don't bother trying to lie about it, I already paid your studio a visit, and had a chat with your cameraman."

She felt a slight panic and asked shakily, "Wait! What did you do to Credence? He's just a boy, he didn't hav-"

"I'm asking the questions here, James." snarled Gohan. There was a pause in the conversation while Angelina was choking on her own voice, struggling to retort. She remained silent, however. Gohan shook his head and said more calmly, "He's fine, explained how you'd been making some calls, cutting deals while on the job. He's actually sitting in your living room right now, turns out he's afraid of heights. Passed out on the way here, and you better thank whatever god you pray to that he's willing to look after you, or you might not be able to survive this. Now, answer my questions."

"I… I don't know who's actually in charge!" she stammered out, her voice weak. "I was paid through a proxy, never spoke in person to anybody. They were careful to cover their tracks, even with me. They didn't even leave a simple trail of payment for me to follow."

"But you're not as stupid as I'd like to give you credit for, are you?" said Gohan cooly.

 _Dammit, I can't keep any of the cards in my hand, can I? I can't tell what he actually knows. I know one thing for sure, I'd never want to play poker with this guy._ "Yeah, of course I did some digging. It's obvious that the organization is the same one running ANTISA. You know who they are, right?"

Gohan deadpanned at her, not saying a word. "Right, stupid question," she muttered under her breath. "Well, it's the same guy who's been paying me for months to do the anti-Saiyan articles I've been doing, you can thank them for bugging your conversation that made you famous. They came to me long before the Saiyans came to Earth, wanting me to dig up whatever I could on Goku. They had an almost fanatic obsession with your father. They paid extremely well, I've got millions now in off-shore accounts for my work. If you let me go," she stammered excitedly, her hands quaking, "I'll give it to you! I promise-"

"I've no interest in money, much less dirty money that came from the people after my father's head. Now answer my second question."

"I don't know! I swear, they covered their tracks too well! The only thing I could find through my digging was that the proxy in question has also been sending huge amounts of money to defense contractors globally! I barely managed to figure that out before they started sending me death threats, and I lost all my black-hat contacts as a result. But I don't have addresses, I don't have names. I swear, I don't!"

Gohan couldn't believe his ears. She'd just said exactly what he was hoping she'd tell, though it seemed she thought it wasn't a lot to go off of. _Defense contractors, huh? I'm willing to bet that includes Capsule Corp. If we can find a common repeat buyer, then we might be able to find out where all that gear has been going. I need to talk to Bulma._

"Let me get this straight, you paid people to hack into your client's systems, and you know for sure that they were paying for military equipment?" he asked calmly.

"Yes! Yes, they were moving millions of dollars in weapons, armor and such. But I don't know what, and I don't know how much for certain, like I said, the intrusion was detected and they figured out that it was my doing. I think the people I paid were killed, I haven't heard from them in months!" she said, sounding surprisingly earnest now.

Gohan hesitated, staring at her hard. She was obviously very scared of him, and she was shaking hard. He knew there was no way to fake that level of fear, he could see it in her eyes. He took a deep breath and said, "Fine. Is there anything else you want to say?"

"Just…" she paused, apparently struggling to say what she was trying to, "It's that, I didn't know they were going to kidnap anyone, much less your wife. When they asked me to schedule the satellite move, I thought it was for something else! I swear, I don't try to get people hurt. It's just the job! Please, I didn't want any of this!"

Gohan grit his teeth and stood straighter, causing Angelina to cower further into her tub, splashing water as she sunk deeper into it. "You're pathetic. You know that? If you had done all of this for some sort of cause that you believed in, I might have been able to understand you, I might have even been able to respect you. But it's just about money. You didn't need to make a career of destroying lives, and it's only now that you're realizing that sometimes, people will fight back and you will be powerless to stop it. But as a matter of curiosity, why did you just go along with their requests after all of that bad business, why did you willingly work with them, using your own companies satellite resources? What could have made it all seem like a good idea after they'd made people you knew disappear? It doesn't seem like a smart business move, dragging more and more people into it all."

"I couldn't say no after that! They'd make me disappear, too!" she cried, splashing more water out of the tub in frustration. She was starting to run dangerously low, her navel showing just above the water line, and the suds almost completely dispersed.

"Here's what's going to happen, Ms. James. I'm going to leave, you're going to return to your bath, and you're going to go about your daily life as if we'd never had this conversation. You understand me?"

"But, what if they find out I talked? What if they come after me, too?" she squeaked pitifully, struggling to make her voice stronger.

Gohan picked up his helmet from behind him and faced her, staring her down with an intense stare. "That's why you're going to pretend none of this happened. Keep your mouth shut, and I can promise you, they'll be gone, and you can go back to your pathetic existence, ruining others' lives for petty money." He placed the helmet on his head, seating it firmly. The displays on the inside immediately burst into life, and he said through it, "We'll be keeping an eye on you, Ms. James. Make one wrong move, tell anybody else, and that little story I told you might get a little too real for you. And, a word of wisdom for you, keep Credence close. He's got some good sense in that head of his, and he likes you. A lot. You could learn something from him."

He spared her one last look, relishing the terrified look on her face for a moment longer before passing through the bathroom door and disappearing into the night.

* * *

It wasn't a long flight back to Capsule Corp, and even less time was needed for him to get to work. Bulma was standing by with the heads of her major departments in the family dome recreation room. She stood up when he entered the room with an expectant look on her face, "Well, Gohan? Any good news?"

Her voice ushered in a silence as the other four people in the room turned to look at him. Gohan knew all of them at least by name, and was surprised to see them all there. He ignored them for the moment though, and nodded towards Bulma, "Yeah, it was her alright. I'm going to get one of the Saiyans to go keep an eye on her though, just to be safe. She had some valuable information, too."

He went ahead and took a seat on one of the vacant couches and sighed a heavy sigh of relief. "Found out that whoever kidnapped Videl has been making a lot of equipment purchases, and I bet they bought some of your stuff too. Ms. James was thorough enough to confirm that much, at least, though it looks like she'd gotten some death threats from whoever it is for snooping. Not that it made a difference, she's rolling in money."

Bulma snorted and shook her head, "Go figure. Okay, so we know that whoever it is likely bought equipment from Capsule Corp. Any idea what kind?"

Gohan hesitated and gave the group in the room a quick look-over before answering, "Military, lots of it." There was a heaviness that settled in around the room, and every one of them traded an uneasy look. "Don't know what kind, how much, or even who from specifically. It sounded like she was certain that it was a _lot_ of equipment though. Multi-millions of zeni's worth, maybe even billions."

Bulma rubbed her chin and said under her breath, "Man, this is sounding more and more like the old red ribbon army days. It couldn't be them, though." Suddenly, she looked up towards her CFO, a short blonde woman who spoke in a heavy northern accent, "Iliya, could you start running some checks for me? I want to know who's been buying our equipment, look mainly in the military research side of things. Repeat buyers and large orders."

"Yes, boss. Right away." Nodded Iliya, immediately standing and stiffly leaving the room. The other four looked at her expectantly.

"Avery, go down to shipping and freeze everything. Have your guys gear up, just in case. I don't want anyone making off with something they ought not to be. Run a screen on everything going out tomorrow, work with Iliya, see if you can find anything they might be taking." Avery, the large head of security, nodded and silently left the room. "Sarah, get down there with the phone line guys, make sure that they handle any incoming calls about delays carefully. It's possible that whoever this is might not appreciate us freezing their equipment. I trust I don't need to tell you that for now, we're in lockdown, that means the people on the outside aren't going to know what's going on in here."

A tall brunette woman quickly wrote something down in a notepad, then clicked her pen and adjusted her square framed glasses, "Yes, ma'am. Anything in particular you would like me to say if we do get any calls?"

Bulma shook her head, "Nothing in particular, but make sure that whatever you say stays consistent, just in case. We don't want these people to think we're on to them." Sarah stood and strode from the room, her heels clicking on the floor loudly. Then Bulma turned to Corbin, her head of PR, "Corbin, be a dear and call up the guys over at MBC and Lehman Marco, use your usual contacts, get them in contact with Iliya, make sure they all play nice. We're looking for the same thing, and I suspect they'll want to know who's going out of their way to abuse the equipment they made."

He nodded and quickly left without a sound. Gohan took a moment to stare at Bulma in awe. He'd seen her at work many times, often working right along-side her, but he'd never seen her really take charge like that. But then something occurred to him, "Hey, you sure we can trust all of them? Not that I'm not grateful for the help, but the less people that know about this, the safer Videl will be."

Bulma gave him an uncertain look, but nodded regardless, "Those guys have been with me for years, and our security guy has been here since I was a little kid. I can't say I know them as well as I know you, for instance, but they've been with me through thick and thin, and I think they can be trusted. And," she added, seeing that Gohan was about to protest, "We don't have the time to be going into it right now. By my reckoning, our time is about half up to find Videl and Chi Chi. Trust me on this one, and if they fuck it up, well… I guess you get to blame me for that."

Gohan didn't really know what to say to that. He wasn't happy about that uncertainty, but he did trust Bulma. Instead of replying directly, he simply nodded his head. "Any new word from Krillin? I don't suppose he's heard anything back?"

Bulma motioned for him to follow her with a heavy sigh. Once they'd started making their way down the corridor, she said in a quiet voice, "No, but I didn't expect him to. The police are completely baffled as to their whereabouts, and like we all thought, they're chalking it up to Goku. They're convinced that he's the one behind their disappearance. Hell, Krillin is lucky he's still being allowed to work right now. Conflict of interests, you know?"

"I suppose we should have expected that." He shook his head irritably, and they continued in silence for a while more. He took another look around and asked suddenly, "Hey, where is Vegeta hiding out at? I haven't seen him since Videl got taken, and he's been pretty careful to hide his ki. Any ideas?"

She gave him a smirk and said, "Well, believe it or not, he's out searching still. Left as soon as he heard the news, haven't seen him since. I think that at this point he's probably pretty pissed off."

Gohan raised his eyebrows and deadpanned, "I'm touched…"

"Oh, you know him better than that. These people should be easy to find by his standards, and he's never been eluded by prey so weak before. I'm sure it's infuriating for him to not be able to find them. He might be worried about Videl, as well… Or more accurately, _not_ finding Videl… I think he's gotten pretty attached to Earth, and I doubt he'd appreciate you going into a rage and getting rid of it."

Gohan felt a blush color his cheeks, and irritably said, "Give me a little credit, Bulma. I'm definitely more in control of my emotions now than I was a few years ago."

"Yeah," she laughed dryly, "But we're all worried about how long that will stick if everything goes pear-shaped."

"Can we drop this? I really don't want to get into it right now."

"Fine, fine. Sorry kid, we're all a little tense at the moment. Come on, let's help in the search." She pressed her palm to a pad on the wall outside of a glass door, and it parted to allow them into the sales nerve-center of Capsule corporation; a fairly small room with six cubicles and a single large desk, behind which sat Iliya, typing away on her computer with a phone to her ear. She gave them a brief glance and nod of recognition before returning her eyes to the screen. Without saying a word, Gohan and Bulma went around the desk to look over her shoulder.

She was working fast, already there was a spreadsheet filled with orders and equipment up, and she was actively adding more to it. And not only that, she'd apparently gotten a bunch of information from one of the other companies through the phone, as she'd labeled the last six entries as "LM" for Lehman Marco, one of the biggest military contractor companies in the country.

The amounts of money she was recording were huge, easily passing into the eight- and nine-digit amounts with each one. But Gohan noticed that none of them regularly repeated, and many of them were legit government contracts. He sighed, knowing the scale of what they were attempting to do, and said, "Looks like we've got a lot of work to do."

It took Capsule corporation's top employees plus Gohan nearly eighteen hours of searching, brown nosing, and deal-cutting in order to get enough information to paint the picture they wanted. During that time, they'd been visited by the entirety of the Z fighters, including Yamcha and Tien, offering help of some sort. Even Hercule had come to see if he could lend a hand, considering that even his influence was less than useless in a situation where he couldn't use the media to help in the search. Gohan found himself half-way admiring Mr. Satan, who was seemingly keeping his composure better than him during these times.

Their search led them from one company to another, each having a range of specialties from firearms to firmware. But during this particular call, Bulma struck gold. She had been talking personally to the CFO of a weapon's manufacturer called Wayselann Firearms, and after what seemed like hours of small talk, got onto the subject of a massive arms trade the company had just done. She snapped her fingers repeatedly, and pushed the speakerphone button, and the man's voice came over loud and clear. "-you would not believe it Mrs. Brief, but the guy paid full price for all ten thousand units. We've got an order that's actually going out tomorrow evening, should be close to eighty percent of the product now."

"Yeah, that's real impressive Barry." Said Bulma in a falsely polite voice, indicating for Gohan to start writing. He quickly pulled out a pad of paper and started jotting down notes. "He didn't even try to get a bulk discount? And by the sounds of it, what your guys made is some powerful tech."

"A real work of art, and terrifying, to say the least" responded Barry, and Gohan could almost see the man's face fall just from hearing his tone. "I don't know who had the idea for this stuff, but I tell you what. It'll completely nullify any conventional armor, and it's got a nasty bite once it hits. I won't tell you more for obvious reasons, Mrs. Brief, but to be honest, were I in charge of how our research was done, these things would be blacklisted. It's brilliant in its design, just terrifying…" his voice trailed off, and they could hear him clear his throat on the other end of the line, "Anyways, what say we meet up tomorrow? I've gotta oversee things down at the docks, then I've got an awful long walk back home. It'd be nice to have a familiar person to chat to for a while, know what I mean?"

Bulma chuckled and turned off the speaker phone function, putting the handheld up to her ear once more. "Sure, Barry. I would like that, actually. I don't suppose you mean Satan City Docks? Yeah? Alright, I'll come out to see you tomorrow. We'll do coffee! Bye, Barry."

Gohan gave her an apprehensive look, scanning what he just heard and trying to piece it all together. "Well, I get that this is somehow important, but I must have missed a part of that conversation…"

"You did," she nodded, leaning back in her chair with a small smile, "Turns out that Barry got a custom order made for these weapons he was talking about, not a government contract. And for the size of it, I'd guess somewhere in the billions of zeni for the entire thing. I don't know who this is, but I'm willing to bet that it's our mystery buyer. So…"

"If we cross reference the orders from his company with ours, and other's, we might-"

"It's even simpler than that!" interrupted Bulma with a haughty smile, "I've just found you a way into their base."

Gohan froze for a second and stared hard at her, the implication of what she meant sinking in. "You want me to ride in a box to get into their base?"

Bulma shrugged and said, "Well, yeah! Of course, we'll double check to make sure we've got the right shipment, make sure that we know it's the same buyer, all that jazz. But once we do that, we should be all set. Unless you can think of a better way to get them to tell you where they're hiding at? Last I checked, your guys' sensing was doing a whole lot of nothing to help."

Gohan bit the inside of his cheek, staring at her hard. She wasn't wrong, but he hated that she was so right about it. "What if we just send a transmitter, GPS locator or something, so that we don't have to worry about a big guy like me getting spotted?"

"And what if whatever is keeping Videl and Chi Chi hidden from you also works on electronics?" Gohan didn't have an answer for her, so Bulma continued, "Now, what I can think of is that you let us know when you've gotten there, and everyone else follows along afterwards. I imagine that having a bunch of Saiyans flying around behind the boat might draw some attention, so everyone else probably ought to stay here until they've been located. Sound like a plan?"

Gohan thought over the idea for a few moments, trying to imagine every possible thing that could go wrong. Of course, if he was seen, the kidnapper would get alerted for sure. On the other hand, he was capable of staying hidden easy enough, and on top of that, he wouldn't need to search for his target. "I… can't say I like it. I'm not a fan of hiding out in a box, but I think it's probably the best option we've got. I say let's do it."

"Good." Bulma smiled, "I'll make the arrangements with Barry, okay? You won't need to worry about anything besides staying hidden. Just to be safe, I would say do your best to suppress your energy while you're on the way there. You never know, since they appear to be able to hide energy from us, they might also have a way to detect it. Needless to say, when they figure out you're there, it'll be too late for them."

Gohan couldn't help the little bit of sadistic glee that filled him at the thought, and he snarled, "I'm counting on it."

So, they continued on with their search. Within minutes, the information had been sent to Bulma, who put it all into the spreadsheet they had been working on. They sorted it over and over, found many links, and many dead ends. But a mere two hours later, the information they'd gained from a long-lost friend of Bulma's turned out to be the last bit of confirmation that they needed. They were finally able to say for certain that his buyer was the exact same person who had been buying Bulma's equipment.

But this brought on a few new concerns. What they'd discovered was that the buyer had been purchasing software from Capsule corporation, along with some complicated virtual intelligence designs that Bulma had derived from the old Red Ribbon androids. With that in mind, they'd concluded that it was possible that there might have been new androids they might need to take down along the way.

These bits of information in mind, they finally decided to end the night. The Capsule Corporation executives went home for the night, and Gohan left to prepare himself for the next day. As he sat by his bed that night, staring out of his window and his mind racing, he thought to himself, _Tomorrow, you'll be home, Videl. You'll be here, and whoever took you from me will serve as an example to the rest of them. They'll see what happens when you cross a Saiyan._

 **THE NEXT DAY – SOMEWHERE OUT AT SEA**

True to her word, Bulma had gotten everything set up. Though Gohan still wasn't happy about it. He sat in total darkness, left to his own thoughts as the container he was seated in bobbed around. They'd been out at sea, or at least it felt like it to Gohan, for at least an hour already. He had been told they'd have to stay hidden in that container for almost a day, and he wasn't looking forward to the wait.

"This isn't exactly how I imagined we would be doing this." said a voice, full of disappointment. In the darkness, Gohan could just barely make out the shape of his father sitting across from him, his arms up behind his head and undoubtedly a frown on his face.

"Yeah, me either. But, Bulma seems to think that this idea of hers will work." Responded Gohan with a shrug. Earlier that morning, he'd decided that he should bring Goku along as well. Or rather, Gohan realized that Goku would just follow him to wherever he was going once he realized what was going on, so it would be better to have him in on it all to avoid the risk of Goku giving them away because he didn't. Not that it mattered in terms of power, but he figured that having two of them to searching for the women would be a much safer option than just one. After all, if they couldn't find them before the Saiyans came in to help them, there would be a distinct chance one or both of them would die before the men arrived. He felt a flare of anger in his gut, directed towards Dende, knowing that the dragon balls would not be available to them if he messed up. He had to remind himself repeatedly that Dende was only acting in the interest of the whole planet, and on someone else's orders. But all it did was fuel his anxiety.

"I hate all of this sneaking and tiptoeing." Said Goku, in a very un-Goku-ish tone that mirrored Gohan's own thoughts. Gohan stared at him for a moment, unsure exactly what he meant. "It's always so much easier when the bad guy just comes out and attacks you directly. Now, with all these politics and underhanded tricks? It seems like I can't do anything without having someone getting mad at me anymore."

Gohan nodded, it wasn't hard to imagine why that was so frustrating, but he thought to himself that in this instance, people were justifiably angry with him, "Whoever is behind this knows they can't take a single Saiyan on in a fight, so they're going after the things that we can't fight against as easily as just… punching it. They've convinced the world that you went on a rampage, too. The video that got sent out all over the world was convincing enough. I'm not surprised that the world is a bit upset with you."

Goku didn't immediately respond, but then posed a question that surprised him. "You had to deal with stuff like this before, right? When you were doing the disguise thing and fighting crime? I remember your mother saying that you'd gotten a bad reputation, even though you were fighting off bad guys."

It wasn't really in him to tell his father that it was the way he was fighting crime back then that was the reason he'd gotten a bad reputation. Needless to say, his motives for fighting were more to just fill a void back then, rather than actually wanting to fight for good. He stared at him in the dark for a few moments, unsure how to respond. Eventually, he settled for just nodding in the affirmative.

"How did you handle it?" his father asked. Gohan was once again left unsure of what he should tell him. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to think back to that time, and all the things that were going on. One particularly bad day came to mind where he'd absolutely and unapologetically taken out his frustrations on a robber who'd surrendered a few seconds before hand. The robber in question never even made it to the hospital, all from a single punch that left half of the man's handgun embedded deep in his chest.

"Well, not in a constructive way, I'll say that much." Gohan finally said, trying his best to hide the shame he was feeling upon thinking about that event again, "We can't afford to have any mis-haps like that again, especially since we have an entire race to worry about, too." Then he added in his mind, _Unfortunately. I can think of a few people the world could live without._

"You know, people have always had opinions about you, Dad." Gohan continued, before his father could pursue that subject any further, "It's just that you spent so much time cut off from the rest of the world back in the day that it didn't really matter to you what people thought of you because you'd be off somewhere, and you'd never hear it… That and you didn't even know you were a Saiyan back then, so obviously, neither did anyone else. I suppose that helped a bit too."

Goku chuckled, and Gohan could see the slightly amused look on his face, even in the dark. "You're not wrong. Man, all of this nonsense can be tracked back to that moment when Raditz came and took you, huh?"

"Ah, you were always going to have something go sideways for you, dad. After all, you were born into a society that actively made war for money on a galactic scale. It's in your blood. It was only a matter of time, so I'd just say that things only got a little stranger when he came."

"Yeah, strange is the right word for it." responded Goku in a serious tone that felt just a bit _too_ serious, and the two stared at each other for a second, the silence between them tense. Gohan couldn't help it, in spite of the last few days, the anxiety and anger boiling in him constantly, he laughed. Goku started giggling like a child, further fueling Gohan's mirth, and before they knew it, the both of them were short on breath and trying to regain their composure.

Gohan felt the sway of the ship as it went over a swell, and their predicament came back into focus. He shook his head sharply and pressed his hand over his eyes, muttering to himself, "What the hell am I doing?" He took a deep breath to steady himself and stared up at the ceiling of the container. It took a moment for him to realize that his father had stopped laughing as well, and he could feel his eyes on him.

"You know, Gohan, I really don't think that it's bad for you to laugh at a time like this. It's okay for you to lighten up a bit." He said, his voice ringing with some of its old vigor that Gohan associated with the way he sounded before Cell. He felt the old weight of lead in his chest at the memory, still present in him, even after he'd thought he'd managed to still the nightmares of that day.

"You're wrong, dad," he snapped, without looking down from the ceiling. "I need to focus, I can't get distracted by pointless baggage at a time like this."

A heavy silence followed his sharp words, and he could feel Goku's eyes on him still. But his father didn't say anything. A moment later, he laid back on the box he was sitting on to look up at the ceiling of the container. Gohan felt a twinge of guilt. He abruptly stood up and crossed his arms, pacing about anxiously, "Sorry dad, It's just that… Well, there's no room for error this time. There's no second chances. If we mess this up, there's not going to be a wish to bring them back. If I can't do this-"

"It's not just you Gohan." Interrupted Goku, using a stern voice that Gohan hadn't heard since he was a child. "And you'd do well to remember that you've got people at your back, and a father who has a lot more fighting experience than you, regardless of the amount of time spent in other-world."

Gohan felt a twinge of insolent anger flare up in him, his eyes locking on to his father's in the darkness. He knew that Goku was right, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear it. "That's not-"

"Not what you meant? Gohan, I know you better than that. Of course you're taking this all on your shoulders, it's what you do, and I'm largely to blame for you thinking that way. It's just that once upon a time, you used to listen to me when I told you something that would help you too. Take a moment, relax. You won't be saving anyone if your wound up like a toy, only make mistakes and get someone hurt."

"Would you have me just gaffing off all the way there? Forget how bad of a situation we're in?" asked Gohan coldly.

"No, but I don't want you going on a murder spree because you lose control of yourself either. And when you get riled up, you get reckless and bad things happen."

The words hit Gohan like a truck. He stared at his father, wondering just how long he'd been carrying those thoughts around. It didn't take a genius to realize he was referring to the way he behaved during the fight with Cell, and later, when he destroyed his own arm during his fight with Dabura. He wasn't wrong, Gohan's temper was legendary by this point, and no matter how much he fought to contain it, it would get the better of him in almost every situation where it broke.

"I can understand why you're tense, I am too," Continued Goku. "Your mother is in there, and I can't know if I will get to her in time. But if I got angry like I used to when I was a kid… Well, I made a lot of mistakes as a young boy too. I need you to be in control and thinking on your feet, like I know you can. Relax while you can."

Gohan didn't answer him, but stared back for a minute, processing. His father was right, just like he usually was. But he didn't want to admit it. There was a part of him that was still bitter over the seven years of time lost, parts of him that blamed Goku for his lack of a normal life. And he was certainly not keen to hear his shortcomings being brought forth by man who so consistently let his enemies escape to fight another day. So, instead of saying anything, Gohan simply laid back on the floor of the container and closed his eyes, breathing deeply to try and calm his nerves.

 ***RED RIBBON BASE***

Red sat behind his desk, impatiently tapping on the stained mahogany and staring with his one eye up at the screen on his wall. It'd been hours since he'd requested an update, and his intelligence officer was lagging behind. He reached over to his phone and pressed a button on the top, "Corporal, where the hell is he?"

A moment passed before a young man's voice came back through the intercom, "He's almost here sir. He had to make a detour, said something about the incoming shipment."

Red grumbled but didn't respond to it. He occupied himself with his drawers for a moment, opening up a small humidor and pulling out a cigar. He pulled out a cutter and sliced the end off of it and roughly shoved it in the corner of his mouth, biting down on it and attempting to light his lighter. He spun the wheel a few times irritably, but the sparks yielded no flame. "Stupid piece of-… Where the hell have you been?"

The door had just opened, and Captain Wilhelm came striding through with a bounce in his step. He strode calmly up to the Commander's desk and gave a short salute. "Sorry for the delay, sir, but I had to take care of a few things on the way here."

"Yeah yeah, I heard. Now report, I want to know what's been going on with our hostages."

Captain Wilhelm watched him struggle with the lighter for a moment, then reached into his pockets and pulled out a small box of matches. He tossed them onto the Commander's desk, causing the short man to pause in his attempts to crush his lighter and stare at it. He gave the captain a questioning look, to which the younger man simply stated, "It's better for the flavor anyway, sir."

Red fumbled with the matches for a moment before lighting one, and holding it up to the end of his cigar. With it lit, he fanned the match and said, "Didn't know you smoked…"

The captain kept his face neutral, but said matter-of-factly, "I'll partake in a pipe occasionally, sir."

Red stared at him for a moment, holding his cigar between his fingers before grumbling, "Pompous ass. Alright, let's get on with it."

Wilhelm nodded and began his report, "We haven't gotten anything new out of Videl, sir. She continues to be uncooperative. Lying consistently to conceal the Saiyan's plans. But we've got something else going on that you need to be aware of, and I think it's related."

Red dragged on his cigar and blew the smoke in the captain's face. The captain made no indication that he'd even noticed the smoke, but did not move for a moment, obviously suppressing his indignation. A slight twitch in his right eye gave way to a short cough, and he continued, "It has to do with our shipment from Marco. The sale went all according to plan, the money is cycling back into our accounts, and the weapons are on their way."

"I'm sensing a 'but'…"

"Indeed. Our guy in the company reported seeing their CFO and Bulma speaking with each other while the shipment was being loaded. Apparently, our friends over at Capsule Corporation have taken an interest in the shipments we've been receiving. We've gotten two other reports in the last few hours stating something to that effect. Bulma has been digging for something. And I suspect that she's helping her Saiyan friends to try and find us."

Red stared hard at him, processing the information. "How the hell would they even know to look for us that way. We left no trails. I made sure of it. Even Ms. James didn't figure it out, and she's even better at digging for information than she is at gold."

Wilhelm nodded and placed his hands behind his back. "Exactly the question I want answered, sir. Hence, my delay. I've sent out a request for our informant friends to come pay us a visit. I will figure out who's behind this breach. Additionally, I've sent out a team to intercept our shipment. They'll be picking it up from the boat while it's still out at sea and bringing it directly. I've no doubt that Bulma put some sort of tracking on the ship, or even has someone among the crew."

Red tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought. "Raise the alert, Captain. Get our base defenses up and running, I want the reactor functioning at capacity, and make sure the cloaking system is fully operational. We may have to accelerate plans."

For the first time, Captain Wilhelm looked taken aback. "But sir, there's no way they-"

"Follow your orders Captain! I know Goku, and by extension, I know his son. If Bulma is involved, if they've gotten any wind of us, they're on their way. I'll not take any further chances. Find out what's happening, and no man in this facility will get even a wink of sleep until I'm sure that Goku isn't about to be knocking down our door. Get whatever information you can out of the girl. Take Fisher with you. For all your skill, you've still failed to get anything out of her that's of any value. Have your men ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Kill the hostages if there's any sign of the Saiyans."

He stared back at commander Red in disbelief. After a couple of seconds, he stammered out, "Of course sir, I'll get right on it." He turned on his heel and quickly marched from the room, closing the door behind him with a loud bang. Red pressed a few buttons on his keyboard, and a new layout of information crossed the screens on his wall. He dragged on the cigar one more time before pulling it from his mouth and sitting far back in his chair. He waited for a few moments before sharply hitting a button on his desk, and swiveling his chair around to look at the wall behind his desk.

The handsome wooden wall was sliding apart, and a bright blue glow was emanating from inside it, illuminating three large metal caskets. Each had the red bowtie of the red ribbon army painted across the front of them. He stood up from his chair and marched over to the caskets, running a hand over the cold surface.

"Gero might be gone, but he was kind enough to leave behind his designs. It's taken a decade. Long enough for me to be rebuild, bring it all back from the dead. But now, finally, I have the advantage. I know you're coming Goku. I'll be waiting for you."

* * *

 ** _ZTV BROADCAST_**

 _On the screens of every home television in the nation, King Furry strode across the stage to a deafening silence. All around, seated in the circular room surrounding the stage, were hundreds of people, politicians, newscasters, and concerned citizens. The anthropomorphic dog stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat, looking about the room with an obvious sense of anxiety. When he spoke, he sounded defeated, like his favorite ball team had just lost a championship game._

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, citizens all... Tonight we have the business of the century to discuss. It's no surprise that the Saiyans have created waves throughout our society for many a year. Ever since young Goku took on the terrible King Piccolo so many years ago right here in our own capitol. For a long time, I have been a supporter of Son Goku, now referred to by his Saiyan name: Kakarot, and the others that laid down their lives to defend our planet. And for just as long, I have been rewarded by them with the successful defense of our world, and an unprecedented period of peace. Full scale warfare has not gripped our planet in nearly thirty years, since the defeat of the Red Ribbon Army, once again at the hands of a young Son Goku-... Kakarot. Yet, mere days ago, we received a video. Many of you have already witnessed it through social media platforms; a video which depicts that very same protector that I have relied on for so many years committing an act of cruelty which I cannot repeat to you. I was greatly disturbed by the footage, as were many of the people who were of like mind as me regarding the Saiyans. Lacking any further evidence to contradict what we saw, our council of nations has convened to discuss what is to be done about the Saiyans, and their presence on our world."_

 _He hesitated. There was a silence that filled the air. King Furry looked like he was being told to kick his own pups for a moment, staring down at his paper with a look on his face that let anyone who was watching know the decision before he even opened his mouth._

 _"It has been decided at this time, that all Saiyans who hear this broadcast have two options. They can submit to our laws and sit in trial for their crimes, including the destruction of property and life over the years, or they can leave, to never return. It has been agreed upon that the Saiyan presence will no longer be tolerated on our world, and anyone found to be harboring a Saiyan shall receive the same punishment as them. Do not leave your homes to search for them. Individual Saiyans are very powerful, and if you spot one, make sure to inform the proper authorities. If the Saiyans decide to move en masse, with the force of their military, then our earth will respond in kind. There will be no further questions at this time."_

* * *

 **A/N: There you go. Hope that this chapter was satisfactory. I'll tell you, it's hard to write in suspense well. I can only hope that I'm doing it justice. If you enjoyed it, or didn't like it, if you have any suggestions, I'm willing to hear it all. As always, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you have a fantastic day. I'll see you next time.**


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